


Star Catcher

by Vesperchan



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, BAMF Sakura, Card Capture Sakura vibes, Curses, Eventual violence, Everyone Loves Sakura, F/M, Found Family, Games, Gen, It's a Shojo, Magic, Magical Girls, Multi, OT3, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Revolutionary Girl Utena References, Sakura Centric, Stranger Things vibes, There Are Monsters, Urban Fantasy, Urban Magic, adoptive dad Kakashi, and dogs, except the people trying to kill her, kakashi is best dad, ot3 friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-03 21:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 110,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20459576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vesperchan/pseuds/Vesperchan
Summary: "It's a long story, but if you start it... you can't be the same person again."Police Chief Kakashi found a small girl in the woods and pulled her from the pond muck to raise as his own. Years later in the slightly odd town of Delphinium, where nothing exciting ever seems to happen, events are thrown into motion that kick off an enchanted game as old as starlight. The game takes its toll on those who bear the mark, both the young and the old. Sakura loses something precious to her and must compete in the games to win back what was taken from her, no matter the cost.





	1. The Whale

When he discovered her Kakashi thought he had finally found Rin, but twenty years later, Rin wouldn’t still be a child like the little girl he pulled from the pond muck. Rin would have been grown just like him. The girl he discovered was small enough to cradle in the crook of one arm while he pushed back the curious snouts of his dog companions.

He turned the body over, half hoping to see her eyes, and half dreading the possibility of meeting a milky sheen, but her lashes fluttered and she coughed up the dirt and pond water of the same color. Kakashi let go of an unsteady breath and then breathed a little easier.

He checked the radio on his belt next, but knew that even if it had been charged, they were still too far out for anyone to pick up. He’d take her back to the cabin and then call to see who was missing a kid. With the Washington forests, civilization had never had any illusion of a hold in some places still, so it wasn’t uncommon for hikers to get lost or turned around while out.

“Stop that,” he told Bull before pushing the puppy away and ignoring the whine. His young pack was all a bit too eager to sniff and huff at the small child in atypical behavior. Sure, they were friendly, but they seemed especially anxious when it came to kids. He was a hypocrite to chastise them for it. Kakashi knew they only followed his example. 

When he carried her back he managed to reign his heart back from the lows it sunk to whenever he thought of Rin. She had been a forbidden thought for so long, but hope broke all rules. Years ago she had sunk into a pond in the same forest and never turned up. Swim after swim and search after search resulted in the same disappointment.

“This one is lucky,” he hummed out loud, cradling the small child closer to his chest. Bull jumped again but Kakashi kept the girl out of reach and safer than safe. “We’re going to take her home and get her cleaned up.”

At his heels the other dogs sniffed at the earth and shuffled along around his heels, keeping closer than normal. He kept talking out loud to put them at ease as they passed under the ancient prances that made the canopy something too far out of reach for mortal men. So deep and so far from anything man made, the forest could be imposing, even to animals.

Kakashi felt a tingle in his spine and started to jog.Home was far off and he was eager to reach the cabin sooner rather than later. Once there he could charge the radio and get a hold of someone who could help.

It took almost another hour but the Cabin finally came into view and the rest of his pack broke out into a dead run, happy to be home. Most circled back to stick at his side, but other ran headlong towards the property boundary line and frolicked there, waiting for him to join them.

Kakashi glared at his runaway traitors but they yapped, too happy to care about his disapproval.He pulled back the screen and the heavy door swung open on creaking hinges he purposely kept noisy. So far out in the middle of nowhere, in a cabin with nothing of great value, there was no point in keeping it locked.

Keeping her in his arms, Kakashi slipped the radio off his belt and into the charging station before moving to the back where the bathroom would be. She was still damp and dirty and he was worried about fever setting in.

He let the warm water run and laid her down on the couch in the living room, cradling her head as it tried to stay in his hand. He tried to ignore the way that made his chest pinch. She had such a soft face full of baby fat and dreams.

Half of his dogs were settling down around her couch while the others slunk off to their usual haunts, happy to be home.

As the tub filled up he went back to the radios and pulled the extra out and radioed in. There was nothing but static and he cursed. Changing the channel he tried again and got nothing in response to his calls. Someone wasn’t listening when they should be…or they let their radios go dead like he had. Of all the days for him to fuck up.

He moved to drop the radio back into the dock when something broke the static.

“Hound dog there?”

If it had been any other day for any other reason he would have ignored the voice, but he had no one else.

“It’s Kakashi. I’ve got a kid out at the cabin in bad shape. You hear anything about a missing girl?”

“Cabin?” Anko squawked. “Where did you find her?”

On the other end of the connection he could hear the rev of her four wheeler and knew she was likely the only one close enough to reach him in any respectable amount of time. She would probably do a better job of caring for the girl, even if she was a psycho.

“How soon can you get here?” he asked.

“Already on my way. Ten, maybe five minutes.” 

“I’ll keep trying the others.” And then because she was helping him he added, “Thanks.”

The tub was nearly filled and steaming so he turned the water off and let it cool. He searched through the old closet for something she could use after she changed and found a couple of dresses that would fit too well. He recognized one of them after a second glance and stuffed it back into the darkest part of the closet, keeping the other one out.

Anko’s jeep rumbled outside, beckoning Kakashi to the porch where he could stand to watch her dismount. She dropped her helmet on the seat, not bothering to tuck it away, then took the stairs to his porch two at a time. She clapped him on the shoulder and grinned when he held the door open for her.

“Such a gentleman,” she teased, shedding her jacket onto her wrists and then tossing it onto the wall hook where it caught and hung itself perfectly. Her sharp eyes scanned the room and then she turned back with an unspoken question.

“She’s on the couch, still asleep. I’ll drive her out once she’s cleaned up and better. I don’t think she has fever, but she was damp almost the whole way back.”

Kakashi moved to point out the cradled bundle and frowned when he noticed Bull in the process of climbing up onto the couch next to her. Caught, the dog whined and bowed his head as he slipped back down onto the floor, tail slapping intermittently when he thought no one was looking.

“She looks fine,” Anko groused, leaning over the kid. “She’s just small and cold.” Anko reached down to pick the girl up and carry her off.

Kakashi made his way into the kitchen and prepared what he could with the limited resources available. He had a waffle maker and just enough batter for a ‘breakfast for dinner’ spread. It was already twilight and growing dimmer every minute. Summer could only hold up the sun for so long.

He was halfway through the batter when he heard Anko’s call from the other room.He pried the latest waffle off the grill and left it where it sat, wiping his hands clean on his jeans.The door was partially ajar, but he didn’t cross the threshold or push it open for the sake of the girl’s privacy.

“What is it?” he asked in a grumble.

“Which mark was it that Rin had?”

He couldn’t speak for a moment as all the blood in his body went ice cold. Wordless, he pushed open the door and stepped in, kneeling down behind Anko as she dried off the girl who was mostly awake, but still mostly out of it.

There was a drowsiness in her eyes as she blinked up at his arrival. Anko had her wrapped in a towel, but he could still see it. Just under her collarbone, above where her heart would be, the freckles of her body stood out in the shape of a familiar constellation, not the same as Rin’s, but a constellation all the same.

“Well?” Anko snapped impatiently.

Kakashi already knew the answer without having to brush the hair out of his dead eye. “No, it’s different, but she’s a part of a new set all the same.”

Anko cursed and Kakashi bristled at the language being spoken in front of a child, but Anko didn’t care. “I thought that hunt was over. My mark hasn’t burned in years. Not since-”

Kakashi cut her off. “Neither has mine, but that’s not to say it couldn’t, especially now that another person has showed up with the markings.”

Kakashi swallowed when the girl opened her eyes fully to regard him, still looking drowsy. She didn’t look a thing like Rin when her features were taken into question, but that didn’t stop the gut punch reaction that echoed inside his heart when her eyes met his. 

“Hey kid,” Anko interjected, saving Kakashi from what would have been a fun little panic attack. “Where are your parents? Do you remember anything?”

“What’s you name, sweetheart?” Kakashi tried in a softer voice.

She had started to move her gaze around the room, but like gravity, her eyes fell on his face once more. “Sakura.”

“Sakura, what a pretty name. Do you know where your family might be, or what their names might be?”

Sakura started to shake her head before something like a thought made her pause and nod instead. She swallowed before answering. “They’re all gone.”

“Who’s all gone?” Anko asked, not minding how Sakura seemed to ignore her.

“All of them.” She raised her little hands and curled her fingers. “A big whale just….” She mimicked taking a big bite of something and then swallowing.

Kakashi felt the panic building once more.

“Cetus,” Anko hissed. “Kakashi, whoever her folks were they’re-”

“That’s enough,” Kakashi interrupted with a firm whisper. He moved closer and knelt down in front of Sakura. He reached for her shoulder and then moved his hand instead to cup her cheek, one thumb tracing a path under her eye. “That’s enough of that.”

With his other hand he moved aside the long hair and his dead eye opened.

* * *

Several Years Later

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes to a mess of fur by her face. It was almost enough to make her sneeze. Turning over wasn’t much better as a new coat of fur sandwiched her in on the other side. Behind her knees another warm body rested.

Mop whined and Sakura reached out to scratch his back along the ridge where his spine stood up. He stretched happily with the contact and then flopped back down against her side, huffing in contentment.

“I must have been noisy again,” Sakura breathed, speaking more to herself than the dogs hogging her bed.

When she got restless or noisy in her sleep it agitated the dogs and Kakashi didn’t stop them from climbing into bed with her when she slept, so it wasn’t rare to wake up sandwiched between four or five dogs that all wanted nothing more than for her to sleep as peacefully as the rest of them. 

Unfortunately for them, fifteen years later and she still had nightmares about things she didn’t even remember.

“I have class today, you guys need to move,” She hissed, wiggling in place under the blankets. “_Guuuuys_.”

From the doorway she heard a chuckle and sat up on her elbows to see Kakashi in her doorway, sewing up the holes in one of his old shirts. His stitches were messy but efficient, which was the only thing he cared about.

“You let them in,” Sakura grumbled.

“Don’t complain. You know you can’t sleep without them.” He pushed off the doorframe and started to head back down the stairs, calling back over his shoulder. “Breakfast is on the counter. Hurry and get it so I can finish feeding the rest of the dogs.”

Mop and Bagel perked up at the mention of food like it was magic, but it was Chainsaw, the tiny Jack Terrier who slept behind her knees, that took off first, barking all down the stairs.Sakura flapped her covers up and the rest of the dogs scattered.

It took her a few minutes more to dress and clip up her hair in a messy bun that would hide how she had skipped a couple day’s showers. She could do that when she got done with classes, but the mornings were always too busy for her to squeeze one more thing in. 

Pancakes were in a glass dish on the counter. A plate was left out along with the apple sauce and blueberry syrup. She peeled up the glass lid and inhaled the apple chunks Kakashi had folded into the pancakes.

“You’re being extra nice to me today,” Sakura hummed in new delight. She served herself and joined him at the counter where he read the paper and drank his first coffee of the day. By the time he made it to the station she knew he would need another.

“You have midterms today.”

Sakura speared the pieces of her pancake and dragged them through the blueberry syrup. “I had them yesterday too. Why the pancakes today?”

Kakashi smiled over his paper . “It’s just a treat to celebrate you wrapping up another leg of your education. After today you’re free for a while.”

Sakura snorted and moved the food around in her mouth to make decipherable words. “Yeah right. You’ve got me booked up. Camping was enough but all the other stuff…”

She grabbed for the water and swallowed what she could before going back for more, knowing well and good that Kakashi watched her in his own way. There wasn’t a lot the ‘Chief of Police’ missed. 

“I’ll pick you up after classes end. Make sure your phone is charged.” His paper crinkled as he folded it back up and left it behind.

Sakura finished a few minutes later and ran around the house, grabbing her books, her charger, the notecards she left by the television, her lip gloss, and something for her hair. At the door Kakashi waited with her water bottle, the one thing she forgot to grab.

“I was going to get that,” she grumbled, accepting the HydroFlask with a flush high on her cheeks.

Kakashi’s smile made his eyes crinkle.

The old Ford pick up truck was worn in and familiar in the way all comfortable things were. The collection of pine scented air fresheners, dangled from the rearview mirror as they pulled out and turned around to exit the long driveway that hid their house behind a smattering of trees along the main road. It was as privet as they could get while still being close enough to civilization.

The police scanner cracked once or twice, but the entire drive was blissfully uninterrupted for once. Even if their county was quiet, they had enough bored officers and citizens who knew how to clog up the airwaves.

“Did you pack a lunch?” Kakashi asked as he started to turn into the local college’s nearest parking lot.

Sakura waved her wallet instead. “I was going to buy something.”

Kakashi turned his nose up. “You buy junk. You need to eat better. Here, take this,” he said as he began to reach for his own home packed lunch of leftover chicken, green beans and rice.

Sakura scrambled for her door. “No, don’t make me take your lunch, I wanna go out with my friends!” 

“Don’t eat junk.”

“I won’t.” She playfully crossed her heart and smiled, knowing he wouldn’t push the issue any more, even if he wanted to. “See you at three.”

“Three thirty!” he called after her, but Sakura was already hopping down and throwing the door shut behind her. His truck idled there until she was out of sigh somewhere down the way.

A few of her friends were already inside and at their preferred seats, but another group lingered outside cramming last minute notes. Sakura joined in for a few minutes before she realized their panic was more detrimental than helpful, and found her usual seat.

Nothing else of interest made her take notice as one class turned into two and then three and then lunch and then her last and final class which consisted of watching a documentary while the professor graded midterms in a rush of packets and essay answer pages.

Sakura didn’t worry when three o clock came and went. She didn’t even worry when three thirty came and passed. At four she started to fret. Her phone had 9% battery and she didn’t want to go back inside to charge it, (because she had forgotten her power pack) butonce she slipped down to 3% she gave up. She’d be able to watch the circle from somewhere with an outlet.

It wouldn’t be the first time he was late, and she doubted it would be the last. Officers had a demanding job and being the Chief, Kakashi was responsible for a lot of what went wrong or awry in their mostly quiet town of Delphinium Washington. It wasn’t unusual for him to get caught up and become unable to answer his phone.

One of her friends from the first class passed by and Sakura caught an idea. “Hey, Karin, you heading south?”

The redhead turned with a halfhearted scowl. “_Another_ ride?”

Sakura’s smile was one no one could stay annoyed at. “Let me tag along please. Just to the station.”

Exhaling, Karin inclined her head in the direction of the parking lots and gestured for Sakura to follow. “Your dad needs to just get you a car or something. You’re bumming from someone every week.”

Sakura laughed because it was true, she was a habitual ride bum, but she didn’t correct Karin about Kakashi not really being her dad. It was a tired and old story she had no desire to try and drag up. She didn’t know who her real father was, but it wasn’t Kakashi, and he had no desire to take on the title of ‘Papa’ if his reactions were anything to go by.

The drive from college to station was as long as any other. When Sakura thanked Karin she got the middle finger, which made her laugh because they both knew better. Karin didn’t have a drop of venom in her blood when it came to Sakura (but only Sakura). To the rest of the world she was a viper.

The secretary looked up when Sakura pushed the door aside, but relaxed once she saw who it was. “Oh, we figured you’d be by. Kakashi got a call and wasn’t sure he’d be able to get you,” Kurenai explained. “Tell him to buy you a car, already.”

There was soft music playing in the back where the officer desks were set up, while in the lobby there was a table with the day old doughnuts she helped herself to. Kurenai’s husband was trying to lose weight so she insisted the morning treats be left where she could see them instead of in the back next to the coffee where they used to always be.

Sakura felt familiar with every detail and aspect of the police station, down to the designs the wood grains made in the floorboards. As a child she had amused herself with looking for rabbits out of the lines and curves, but as an adult she knew better that to let herself get lost in such thoughts. Still, she knew the floorboard under the water fountain had a stain that looked like a turkey.

“I don’t mind waiting, and it’s not like I couldn’t manage if he didn’t come for me.” Sakura licked powdered frosting off her lips. “Any news on when he’ll be back?”

“It’s a local dispute he had to run and settle. He shouldn’t be much longer. Want to go back and keep his office seat warm?”

Sakura leaned back on her heels and peered down the hallway into the next room where she could see Yamato at his desk, but no sign of the others. It made sense that Might Guy and Asuma be out on patrol, since the former couldn’t keep still to save his life, but there were two acting deputies and neither was at his desk.

“Depends,” Sakura began in a low voice. “Who’s here?”

Kurenai just laughed and went back to answering another email that dinged on her computer screen. Sakura grumbled but stuffed the rest of her doughnut into her mouth before heading for Kakashi’s office at the far end.

Yamato looked up from his policereport and Sakura smiled back as she pointed to Kakashi’s closed door. Sometimes she wasn’t allowed in, but if Kurenai said it was okay she doubted the others would bar her from entering.

Wordless, Yamato gestured for her to head inside. When Sakura shot him a funny look he touched a single finger to his lips and pointed to the bathrooms. Sakura heard the water running-_oh_!- and darted the rest of the way to dive into Kakashi’s office before the on-duty deputy could spot her. It didn’t really matter which one it was, both and them gave her headaches.

The blinds were all turned down, but she hadn’t close the door all the way, and sound still carried.

“Who was it that just came in?” Shisui asked.

“Not anyone for you and no one with the missing police report you’ve owed me for two days now. When Kakashi comes back I’m going to be a hard ass about it,” Yamato answered sharply.

Sakura said a silent prayer of thanks to the younger officer for being so understanding. 

Of the two deputies on staff, one had all the local connections and knowledge and the other had all the fancy training and big city police connections from his family. Of the two deputies, Sakura didn’t mind the first quite so much. Since getting over her teenage crush on Iruka, it had become easier to be around him. Shisui was a whole other monster. Both still gave her headaches though.

The desk was a mess for being as empty as it was, but Sakura set to cleaning it as best as she could without disturbing things she didn’t know anything about. There was a photo framed by his desktop computer, but it wasn’t of her. Inside the silver boarders a trio of kids smiled under the watchful eye of their Scout Leader.

The photo usually stayed in the top drawer of his desk. Sakura wondered why Kakashi had taken it out.

The door to the office opened before her thoughts could go anywhere else and her heart sank as Shisui’s grinning face filled the doorway. Yamato slumped in defeat at his desk past Shisui’s shoulder.

“I should have guessed we had a mouse somewhere in the station. What are you doing? Hiding?” he teased, tone far too filled with glee for her liking.

Sakura rolled her eyes and made a gagging expression.“Ugh, don’t you have actual work you need to be doing?”

“Sweet tart that’s what I’m in here for.” He winked her way before crossing the room to the far wall’s filing cabinets.“Don’t _you_ have any work to get to?”

“No.” Sakura turned back to fall into Kakashi’s desk chair with her arms crossed. “Not like it’s any of your business, but I’m off.”

“That sound like so much fun. Wish I could join in with that, but the Chief is a real slave driver.”

“Nah, you’re just lazy. Yamato even said so.”

“It’s true!” Yamato called into the office from his desk.

“Lazy doesn’t solve seventy three percent of all recent cases.”

“Seventy three percent of the cases in Delphinium are disputes about someone’s cow stepping on their neighbor’s pet cat. Don’t act like that’s anything worth bragging about.” 

“That’s as good as it gets in Hicksville.” Shisui took a half step towards her and bent at his waist in her direction. “Don’t miss me too much when I graduate and move on to bigger and better things.”

“You mean like a nose job?”

Yamato choked in the other room and Shisui scowled out the doorway.He took a half step back and shifted his weight so that his voice carried when he shouted out of the office to where Yamato sat. “At least my nose isn’t stained brown from kissing ass all day long.”

“Language!” Kurenai snapped, appearing at the far end of the hall.

For the first time, Shisui appeared to flinch and hike his shoulders. But before anything more could be said or done the front door opened and a pair of shadows darkened the doorway, stomping mud from their boots.

“Is Sakura here?” she heard Kakashi ask from out of sight.

“Here!” she called loudly.

She left the office behind and met him halfway, grinning as he caught her by the elbows.

“You didn’t call,” she chastised.

“The woods did that thing again. Sorry. I had to restart my phone and then I was practically here. Your midterms all done?”

She nodded and he tucked her under his arm in an affectionate hug while Guy moved in behind him, squeezing around to get to his desk. As he passed, the officer reached out to ruffle her hair like he had when she was eight.

“Kurenai,” Kakashi called. “If you need me, my phone should be working.”

The secretary gave him double finger guns in acknowledgment.

“It’s four thirty in the afternoon,” Shisui huffed.

“Practically dinner time,” Kakashi cheered, unfazed by the younger Uchiha’sexasperation as he waved to Might Guy. “Guy, I trust you with my life and my town.”

“Does that mean we’re not going to see you for several days?” Yamato asked, interjecting. He looked exhausted.

“They’ll be slow days.”

Kakashi turned around to help guide Sakura out and into his truck. Climbing in, she caught sight of Shisui watching them from the office window, but didn’t bother to flip him the bird this time.

As the engine roused to life Kakashi apologized for the miscommunication or ,more accurately, the lack of communication on his part. It wasn’t something that was unheard of, even for county police chiefs with the best cell coverage tax dollars could afford. Everyone had troubles with their phones if they went too deep into the woods.

“What were you doing out there?”

“Nothing too interesting. Some property damage needing inspecting. Most likely another wild animal. How was your day?”

She didn’t have a lot to say, but Kakashi listened anyway, and asked extending questions when he could until they were back at the driveway. Sakura got out first to grab the mail and then walk to rest of the way back. When she had been younger, Kakashi would promise to wait for her and then drive off without her, leaving her to scream and run after his taillights. After years of such teasing she knew better than to try and catch him.

The dogs swarmed to meet her halfway back, and she greeted each of them in turn, happy to be back with them even if she enjoyed school and her friends. She dropped the mail by the door and turned back around to throw the toys they pushed into her hands.

Ginger, the Golden Retriever went positively mad when anything was thrown for her. Her whole backside shook with the force of her wagging tail while Chainsaw, the terrier, and Bagel, the Russian wolfhound, tried their best to keep up with her. Bagel was fast, probably the fastest of the lot, but Ginger was a magnet on anything thrown, and if Bagel lost track of the stick or ball, it was all Ginger’s. 

Kakashi’s dogs, Shiba and Biscuit barked and ran around her legs while the rest of his senior pack was content to watch from the deck.A few minutes later when she turned around, Kakashi was there too, looking just as tired and lazy as his pack, but holding out a skillet with cheese quesadilla for her to see.

“Snack?”

Sakura couldn’t help but smile. “You’ll ruin my dinner.”

Kakashi scratched at the back of his neck. “I think dinner might need to be take out again. I didn’t pick up enough meat for what I had planned. Pizza sound good?”

Sakura grabbed the cheese oozing quesadilla from his skillet and started to chew without napkin or plate. The dogs started to all whine, smelling food that she had no intention of sharing with them.

From inside, the phone rang but Kakashi ignored it after checking the number off the caller id. When Sakura asked who it was his only reply was, ‘not important.’

Sakura raised half her butt to rest on the railing and stared off into the dark shadows cast by trees. It wasn’t as thick as the forest around their weekend cabin, but sometimes the shadows stretched long enough to trick her into thinking the heart of the forest was just beyond her finger tips.

With cheese trailing in a messy string from her lips, she raised her hand and leveled it with her eyes before stretching it out as far as her arm would allow. The tree trunks were right there, thick as her fingers.

“Do I have time for a walk?” she called back over her shoulder.

Kakashi came back to the doorway with an annoyed look as the dogs went wild around his ankles. Their property was fenced in and the dogs had plenty of free room to roam, but exploring in the woods was a favorite pastime they would always go crazy for.

“Did you suddenly forget how to spell w-a-l-k?”

Sakura pasted on her best ‘innocent’ smile and bat her eyes. “Sorry.” 

Kakashi held up the silver dog whistle and she grabbed it by the chain, reaching up to kiss his chin before skipping down the rest of the way. At the fence a wild pack whined and paced, tails wagging so hard their whole back ends shook with the force.

Only a few of the older dogs, like Bull and Pakkun, elected to stay behind. Sakura gave both a kiss before slipping out the back gate, leaving only Chainsaw behind, because the Jack Russel Terrier was the only one of the lot who she didn’t trust not to come back to her when she whistled 100% of the time, and she didn’t feel like leashing him up.

She felt like running.

There was a familiar crunch as her boots dug into the fallen foliage, and then the barks from her pack echoed in her ears, before the rest of the world faded and she became nothing but a single instinct.

Run.

All the stress and study and worry and work fell away like weights as she ran through the trees so knew. The beaten path was faint but familiar. She knew where she was going and she knew she needed nothing but her own legs to get there.

Between the trees no one was there to watch her, to judge or evaluate. Her chest felt lighter than it had in weeks even as her lungs began to burn around the edges.

She ran until she couldn’t. The path opened up to a clearing the fed into a shallow dell she could drop into. The path was wide and long and in parts it betrayed the intended road long ago people planned in an act of hubris. The forest was so far out and separated by a great void of civilization, but decades ago men with more money than brains thought it would be only a matter of time before the next city took root in the small town of Delphinium.

Sakura followed the dell until it swelled flat and even with the rest of the forest floor, and the skeleton of a gatehouse hanging onto what was left of the estate’s gate. Sakura jogged up past it, knowing well the interior of the four story lodge where a fancy man’s driver was meant to live almost a hundred years ago. 

Sakura called to Bagel when he ran off to far, and the happy Wolf hound raced back to her side, licking at her hand as she walked over the ruined road and up to the mansion behind the trees. The doors were still there, wood and chewed through in parts, but still more intact than the ones to the gatehouse.

“Let’s see,” Sakura hummed out loud to herself and her dogs as she pushed open the heavy doors. One gave more than the other, letting her in.

It was just as she remembered it. The footprints in the dust and debris were all from her, telling the story of how she frequented the forgotten manor in the woods. The library was bare of all its books save a handful Sakura had brought over herself, including a field journal that still wasn’t finished.

Sakura walked in with the dogs trailing at her heels and found the journal right where she left it. Flipping it open she ran her fingers over the pages, rereading entries about wayward stars and made up forest spirits, before flipping to the end. Blank pages stared up at her and she itched to fill them.

She checked the desk that still stood and pulled out her pencil tin, but all the colored pencils were dull and short. She had forgotten to bring new ones with her.

“Sucks, Ginger,” she whined to her Golden Retriever. “I had another dream I wanted to draw too.” She reached for the dog and scratched her behind her ears. “Not the one from last night, though.”

Mop barked from the doorway, more annoyed at the fact someone else was getting attention. Sakura held out her arms and the Irish Wolfhound trotted over before nearly knocking Sakura over as he tried to wedge himself in between her and Ginger, the other dog.

She laughed and stood, replacing her tin and giving the notebook another longing glance before stuffing it back too. In the hallway she heard Bagel in a room down the hall and jogged down to yell at him. He was between the printing presses once used to print a local newspaper.

The machines were the most eerie part of the whole mansion, she thought after learning how the man who started their local newspaper used his wealth to try and defy nature by building his dream mansion in the middle of _nowhere_. Lost to the forest were a scattering of other homes, some only left with their foundations, that once sought to be a part of the new world’s ‘city of dreams.’

Sakura called all the dogs to her with the note of a silver whistle and together they made it back in one piece, no worse for wear. Sakura ran like she wanted to beat the dogs back, but they were too much to catch up with and she ended up out of breath, red faced, and too happy to care back on the porch.

“Finally, little miss wilderness decided to join us. I was just about to call,” Kakashi said as he held up his own whistle. It would have grabbed the dog’s attention enough to let Sakura know she needed to head back. “Did you have a fun run?”

“I wasn’t even gone that long,” Sakura whined as she stomped the mud out of her boots and then left them by the door. “But yeah, I did. Thanks for asking. Is that pizza?”

Kakashi hummed, moving aside for her to see the box from their favorite hole in the wall parlor. Sakura loved how they piled on the cheese for her. She felt the saliva pool in her mouth and her jaw ached.

“Wash your hands first, you animal,” Kakashi chastised.

Sakura was already in the kitchen, hands under the faucet. The dogs were splitting up to take up places in their usual haunts. The phone on the wall rang again.

“Gonna get that?” she called.

“Nah,” Kakashi called back. “Pizza is still hot.”

“Hey!” Sakura scrambled to dry her hands and join Kakashi before he could take the best slice. For as good as their cheese count was their slice cutting was horrible. Not all slices were cut equal.

Kakashi’s smile made his eyes crinkle and she could see the beginnings of crows feet by his eyes.

They took their slices and in the background Kakashi turned the television on to let the news play on mute with closed captions. Nothing reported ever had to do with Delphinium. Occasionally the neighboring towns like Summerwood and Maidborough would have something to contribute but it was always the cities like Brewster, Republic, and Okanogan that had something worth leaning in for.

Sakura was fine with that. She had enough anxiety without having to worry about Kakashi being shot in his cruiser by someone with a chip on their shoulder. The most drama he had to endure was cold soup from a dinner that didn’t appreciate his bust of the marijuana ring last year. Things were fine as they were. The nightmares could stay in her sleep.

Absently, Kakashi leaned back and ran a hand over the back of his neck, watching the words on the screen. The phone rang again and he groaned before standing to get it. “If I don’t, she’ll never give up,” he grumbled.

Sakura sat up a little straighter in her seat, wondering who this ‘she’ person could be. If it was Kurenai he wouldn’t act so hesitant. In all the years she had known him, he hadn’t dated or taken a lady friend for longer than a week before ruining it. The last one had lasted twelve days and then dumped him in front of the marijuana dinner.

Sakura followed him up to the kitchen threshold and waited behind the wall, listening.

“Oi! I’ve been calling all day!” a woman screeched through the old receiver. “Haven’t you felt it too?”

“You’re screaming.” Kakashi turned around and glared at Sakura, waving her off. “Take it down a few decibels and try again to convince me to care.”

He moved as far as the board would allow him and Sakura knew better than to try and listen any more. He would tell her later if he wanted, and no depth of curiosity on her part would change that. She got back to the table and gasped at Chainsaw chewing on what had been left of her crust, standing on her chair with his forepaws on either side of her plastic plate. He looked unremorseful until Sakura gasped again and chased him off the table and into a corner where he sulked, pennedin the time out pen.

“This is why I don’t take you on walks.”

He whined and looked at her like an angry child being punished. Sakura didn’t bat an eye as she returned to the table to get a new slice and eat it where he could see her and whine about it.

Kakashi came back into the room only long enough to stuff what was left of his crust into his mouth before he was reaching for his jacket. Sakura startled.

“Where are you going?” It was nearly dark. “Is it work? You’re supposed to be off.”

“Not work, but almost work. I shouldn’t be longer than a couple of hours but don’t wait up for me. I’ll take my phone and my dogs.” 

He scratched the back of his neck as he turned and looked around for his smart phone, helpless until Sakura found it for him. They were a perfect pair, never able to find their own things. When she handed it off he pulled her in to kiss the top of her head and something like fear ran down her spine.

“Do you have to go?” she asked, chest tight.

“I’ll be quick.”

But when he pulled away her hands fisted at the edges of his jacket, stopping him.

“Don’t go, please.”

He hesitated but then took her hands and eased them off the zipper trail, rubbing his thumbs into the skin on the back of her palms. “You’ll be fine, kiddo. You’re not nine anymore.”

“It’s not that. I just…” Sakura looked up at Kakashi’s kind face and felt too guilty to finish her words, so she swallowed them and forced herself to take a step back. “It’s nothing,” she finally managed to say. “Come back soon.”

“I will.”

She watched him go, staying on the threshold to outside. He was climbing into his truck with the Delphinium Police writing and the expired pine scented air fresheners. They jostled when he adjusted the rearview mirror.

Sakura convinced herself to breath easy and wave him goodbye. Twilight was settling in and the last few colors of the sky bled out as Kakashi turned the truck around and headed for the road.

“Stay safe,” she said, knowing he wouldn’t hear her. In the hallway she caught sight of herself in the mirror and frowned. “Don’t be stupid,” she told her reflection. “He’ll be fine.”

But two hours turned into three and then four, and then five. He had sent her a text not to wait up and he might be out even later than he thought but he promised to be there in the morning. Nothing else. No name of the woman he was with, no explanation for why he was out, nothing more.

She fell asleep in spite of her worry and woke in the morning to a house too cold and empty feeling in spite of all the dogs. Fear kept her from running, but eventually she made it to the front of the house where she looked out to find the parking path where his truck was supposed to be.

Empty.


	2. The Drowned Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is just the beginning, because running away from things doesn’t mean they don’t stop coming.”

In the morning there was still no Kakashi but the fission in her bones remained, so she dragged the old mountain bike out and took the dogs with her. It took almost an hour even with the bike, but she crested a hill and found the road that their truck would take to their weekend cabin. She didn’t know what she would do if he wasn’t there, but she prayed the itch that spurred her on meant something.

Her throat was dry and her mouth felt like paper, but she would regret forgetting water later. There would be plenty at the cabin anyway.

No more than ten minutes later she saw the tops of the cabin roof and something lurched in her until she moved past the trees and saw the rest. Kakashi’s truck was there, parked haphazardly up against the side. She sped down and then jumped from her bike, stumbling and then running for the truck, screaming for Kakashi. It was empty but the keys were still on the seat, along with his cell. It was dead, but she doubted it would have given her any clues even if it wasn’t.

“Kakashi!”

Sakura stepped back and ran up into the cabin, finding it unlocked again. She saw the small kitchen with a two person table, the couch, the game table with Monopoly still left out, and the door to the bathroom left open. She ducked into both of the bedrooms, but found them just as empty.

Sakura forced herself to stop and look again, knowing she wouldn’t find a body, but maybe she would find some clues.

There was mud in the bathroom, dried, but fresh enough to be only days old at the most. A towel was missing. Behind the vanity the first aid kit that usually was there was missing.

One of the dogs barked, and then the others joined in. Sakura skipped steps to round the back of the cabin and stop at the edge of the dog ring. Under the back porch there was a dark blue tarp that she had never seen before. It was lumpy with something underneath. She inhaled and almost gagged when the smell made her stomach turn.

Mop, began to pace back and forth in front of the tarp, not daring to move any closer while also not taking his eyes off it. She saw his ears were pressed flat against his skull. Like most of the others. Ginger whined and back up, laying down.

The woodshed wasn’t far so Sakura grabbed the wood ax and then came back to the tarp. When she moved closer Mop, Fudge, and the others began to bark even more, sounding frantic. Still, not one approached the tarp. The bells of danger going off in her head were ringing louder and louder the longer she stood where the dogs wouldn’t go.

Whatever was under the tarp was too big to be a human, unless that human was the size of a bloated Grizzly Bear. But, whatever it was was wet, as evidenced by the way it made the tarp turn dark blue.

Sakura pulled up the front of her shirt and inhaled the smell of fresh cotton and lavender. It was enough.

She slipped the ax head under the tarp and jerked it back.

The barks turned to yips and Chainsaw took off running in the opposite direction along with Ginger.

For a second Sakura couldn’t move, and then the petrification broke. She stumbled back and the ax slipped free from her hand, digging into the dirt. The smell was worse and she almost vomited, but swallowed what she could and thought of Kakashi.

“This isn’t him,” she told herself as she forced her eyes to see the bloody mass under the tarp. “This isn’t him, it’s not…even…” her words failed her but her brain still finished the thought.

_Human_

The mess was larger than a bear, cleaved open in the front with two mouths, six legs, and a face that looked like it was supposed to split open into two parts. The face flaps connected by muscle lay open, and the teeth circled down its open mouth as far as she could see into its throat. There were no eyes she could see, but she wasn’t sure there weren’t eyes somewhere.

“Kakashi, what have you done?” she whispered aloud to herself.

Somewhere far off there was thunder.

Sakura tugged the tarp back down and then weighed it down with a stone. She called the rest of the pack back with her whistle, and in spite of his fears Chainsaw did eventually come, but he stayed as far away from the house as he could. She set out water for them before penning them in on the front porch, away from the creature. With the front door open they came in and out as they pleased.

Sakura packed a bag with water, food, and first aid, and then called Kakashi’s office phone.

“Delphinium Police Station. Might Guy speaking, standing in for the Chief, how can I help?”

Sakura swallowed and listened to Guy put down whatever paper he had been holding. A second later her voice worked. “Guy?”

“Sakura, what’s wrong? You’re supposed to be with Kakashi.” When she didn’t reply right away he called her name again and she swallowed. _Why were her throat made out of cotton?_

“I’m at the…the weekend cabin. Do you know where that is?”

“Yes. Are you hurt? Is Kakashi with you?”

“No.”

It came out as a whisper but he heard because he was grabbing his things and getting ready to move on the other end of the line.She could picture him grabbing his jacket and keys so easily.

“Kakashi left last night and hasn’t been back. I found his truck at the cabin…with his keys and phone. But-” She choked on the words.

“Stay where you are, I’ll come to you. I’ll grab-”

“There’s a creature here.”

Guy went quiet on the other end of the line. Sakura inhaled and tried again.

“There’s something dead, something with teeth all down its throat and too many legs. I found it under a tarp under the porch where someone dragged it, but Kakashi isn’t _anywhere_.”

“And it’s dead, you’re positive?”

“It was completely gutted. I’m positive.”

“Stay where you are, don’t leave outside, stay with his dogs, and don’t touch that thing. I’ll be there in an hour, as soon as possible. Don’t tell anyone else.”

The line went dead and numbly she dropped it back into the cradle.

Ginger whined by her feet and Sakura reached down to scratch the dog behind her ears. Mop lay on the threshold outside, watching for anything that might come while the others lay on the bricks around the fireplace even though it was cold. Sakura reached for some wood to prep it when she remembered leaving the ax somewhere she shouldn’t have.

“I’ll be right back,” she said to the pack before moving out.

Mop barked at her and Fudge bounded to her side. She kept them on the other side of the gate, something they didn’t like, but made her way back down to the back of the cabin. For all she knew something else could be in the woods that they would run after and...

The ax was where she left it. She took it back to the woodshed without managing to look at the tarp, but when she latched the door behind her she couldn’t help it. She saw it again and like a spell, her legs turned to stone and she couldn’t move. Something across her chest burned.

“You’re dead,” she hissed to the tarp and forced her legs to move. There was blood in them and she was alive, so she would do as she pleased.

She saw light reflect in the windows and turned sharply to stare back over her shoulder. There was a crackle of purple light and she feared lightning, before she realized lightning was never _that_ color or that quiet when it was that close. 

At least…she didn’t think it was.There wasn’t any boom after the lightning at least. If there was no thunder then was it even lightning? 

The dogs were barking wilder and angrier than before. She should have taken one with her. She should have never left the house. She should have never gone out for the ax. She should have never ignored those instructions…

Guy’s warning held her like wet paper.

She walked into the forest, following the flicker of purple light until the smell of charred wood took over. She ran and too close for comfort she stumbled into a clearing of black soot and charred trees. A mess of splinters, shattered wood and broken branches lay scattered in different shades of burning. It looked like a bomb had gone off. 

The purple flickered once more and she turned to find it coming from something standing out of the ash.

_What the hell?_

She grabbed a stick and approached, digging away the dark ash until a card fell sideways. The purple flickered once more and then died. The energy humming in the air she hadn’t noticed before went out and she felt able to breath again. 

The back of the card was blank, but when she turned it over the edges shimmered in opal shine. Her chest pinched and burned like she needed to scratch it, but she edged closer and knelt down next to it to see better.

It looked like a playing card or something from a tarot deck. A man sank under the waves, bubbles of airs trailing from his open mouth as the ropes around his ankles pulled him down. Above him on the land he sank away from was a pack of hunting hounds.

Under the picture was a caption: **The Drowned Man.**

The skin over her heart felt agitated but she couldn’t move. Kakashi’s face was the one on the card, sinking, dying.

She gripped the card without thinking and something on her chest went from an itch to a burn.

**-<strike>_whalesoundsscreamingfiretreetopsandthecrunchsplatsinkingbackupanddown_</strike>-**

She screaming, feeling blood wet the inside of her shirt. She dropped the card and tugged at the collar to see down. Her freckles, the ones scattered over her chest like constellations were bleeding. A thin trail of blood slid between her eyes from a freckle on her forehead.

“That’s not good.”

Sakura jerked up, grabbing the card and turning. A woman stood mere paces away, holding her wet side and looking pale. She grinned and it was a manic sort of expression.

“You’ve grown up a bit,” she coughed, still smiling.

“Who are you?” Sakura asked.

The woman lifted her head and squinted before hiking her shoulders. “He didn’t tell you anything, did he? I’m Anko. Kakashi was helping me last night. You’re Sakura. I was there when he-when you were found out here.”

There was too much for Sakura to unpack.

She knew Kakashi _found_ her. It wasn’t a secret no matter how much he hated to mention it. She also knew she had been found in the woods by their cabin, but Sakura had never heard the version of the story where Kakashi was with a woman named Anko.

But really, that didn’t matter.

“Where is Kakashi? Do you know where he is right now?”

Anko pointed to the card. “That’s his, isn’t it?” Then she tapped the back of her neck. “He had a mark here to match it, right?”

“_Freckles_, he had freckles. What mark?”

Anko then gestured to her chest before pointing to Sakura’s where the bleeding had stoped but the stains hadn’t. “Those aren’t freckles, honey.”

Then she turned her head to the side and showed off the curve of her neck where a scattering of marks stood out, seemingly innocent as natural freckles until Sakura saw them flash purple. A black ring appeared around them and the mark went out making her grimace.

“I’ve not been able to do much more than _that_ since the end of the last games. Someone didn’t like me and turned them all off. But I guess this all sounds like crazy talk to you. He didn’t tell you much of anything I can tell. You’re looking at me like I’m crazy, but it is better to get this over with now before-”

“Enough!”

Both Sakura and Anko whirled to see Guy panting at the edge of the tree line. The sun was high in the sky but still smothered by thick clouds. Guy was glaring daggers at Anko who only grinned wider.

“Look at that, the Golden Lion of ours has returned. What are you going to do, repeat Kakashi’s mistakes?”

“Don’t say another word,” Guy bit out, sounding angrier than Sakura had ever heard him. He stalked forward and stopped in front of Sakura, holding out his arm to block her sight of Anko.

“She’s seen enough. You’re wasting your time.” Anko angled her chin up at Sakura’s direction. “And besides, she’s already been exposed.”

Guy glanced over his shoulder and winced at the sight of her blood. “Sakura, I am sorry I was not here sooner. Kakashi wished to protect you from this.”

There were a lot of things Sakura wanted to ask, but one question rose to the surface. “Where is Kakashi?” She numbly lifted the card to show Guy. “Where is he?”

Anko started to limp away in the direction of the cabin and Guy snapped at her. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To get cleaned up and find some food. I’ve been out all night and if you want to know anything more from me I need treatment first.” She then continued on her way.

Guy turned around to regard Sakura, grabbing her shoulders and holding her back to better examine the blood stains. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so,” Sakura mumbled, poking at one of her freckles. The blood didn’t flow anymore and nothing hurt. “But that’s not important. Kakashi-”

“Is something we’ll have to discuss once inside.” Guy glanced up at the trees and glared. “The eyes and ears are not where you would expect them to be. Come, we’ll talk inside.”

-

Anko was already taking a shower when they got back. Guy started to cook what he found in the deep freezer, things Kakashi had stocked for their weekend retreat, and Sakura sat on the edge of the fireplace, watching the flames catch. There was a crack somewhere outside and then the rain began.

“Do you want to change or wait to use the other shower?” Guy asked, sounding so unlike himself.

Sakura shook her head and then bent closer to Ginger who licked at her face. Mop whined at her feet. “I’m fine for now. I just…” She swallowed and tried again. “_Kakashi_.”

“I understand how you must feel.”

Sakura glared. “How would you know? What happened to him? Is he safe? Is he even _alive_?”

“Most likely.”

But it wasn’t Guy who answered. Anko leaned against the bathroom doorway grinning in one of Sakura’s old shirts and boy shorts. Guy scoffed and looked away but Anko didn’t seem to mind as she entered the living room.

“He’s not somewhere we can reach though. He lost, sad to say, so he paid the penalty on his own without any other icons to take the fall for him.”

“Anko, Kakashi told you he didn’t-”

“Kakashi ain’t here and pretty soon _she_ might not be either if you don’t explain it,” Anko snapped with a flash of teeth and anger. Scars on her arms stood out as she cross them over her chest. “The honeymoon ended. Now its time to clean house. No going back from this now, or can you not smell the rot under the tarp?”

“You dragged him back into it,” Guy accused her. “He didn’t want any part of this.”

Anko rolled her eyes and waved her hand. “Didn’t want any part of it, bla, blah, blah. Too bad it wasn’t up to him. The world doesn’t bend her laws for the wants of man.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sakura asked.

Anko turned her eyes back to Sakura. “Kakashi ran away from something bad long ago, which was his choice. That thing came back and it’s just a fact.”

“The body under the tarp-”

“Is just the beginning, because running away from things doesn’t mean they don’t stop coming.” Anko sounded old when she spoke.

“Stop that,” Guy interjected. “_Enough_, your stories are no good here. Those things ended. We all left them behind. Anything else is just a-a-” He glanced back at Sakura and then back at Anko. “We’ll deal with it. We don’t drag new blood into it.”

Anko’s grin was conspiratorial. “No such thing here, mate.” 

She reached over and flicked Sakura’s forehead and Sakura felt heat there. Guy looked to her forehead and there were no words said, but he could see something there. She touched her forehead and felt nothing.

Anko cursed under her breath. “Damn, seal is still holding it back. This will take some more work.” She moved towards Sakura but Guy was faster, smacking her hand out of the air.

“None of that!”

“The second and tertiary ones are already awake.”

Sakura poked at the freckles under her shirt and felt the dried blood crack. “What happened to me? What does it have to do with getting Kakashi back?”

Anko grinned sideways at Guy, posture smug. Guy just deflated and then knelt down next to Sakura. Ginger whined and licked his hand until he pet her.

“It’s a long story, but if you start it, you can’t go back to what you had before. You can’t be the same person again.” He rolled back the sleeve of his uniform shirt and Sakura saw a pattern of freckles on his forearm spaced out like the stars in a constellation…just like hers, and just like Kakashi’s.

“They’re just freckles.”

“Are they?” Anko prodded. “Don’t you want to know the truth?”

Sakura looked at Guy’s arm and then his eyes. “I don’t care about the truth, I just want Kakashi back.”

-

She showered and changed. It was autumn and chilly but she stood with a low cut top in front of the bathroom vanity, tracing her fingers over the freckles and feeling something like electricity sparking underneath her skin.

_‘It’s a terrible sort of game and we’re the players,’ Guy explained over the Monopoly game board. He picked up the car and then dropped it. ‘Kakashi, me, you, her, different turns on the board, all players.’_

He told her a story that sounded more suited to children, about a world with kingdoms sinking into the sky, desperate for champions to bring them down, of monsters made to provoke the players to take action when they grew too docile.

A long time ago a group of children played the game without knowing the cost. No one remembered them after they lost, except those with the marks.

_'Losers are sometimes taken to the sinking kingdom until the end of the game.'_

When Sakura asked how long the game lasted Anko laughed sarcastically and explained that the game never ended. They thought it ended when a kingdom fell into the sky, but as soon as that happened the fallen kingdom let lose its monsters and started the horrors up anew. That’s how it had been for thousands of years, one cycle starting up again every other generation.

_‘It’s too soon for this again,’ Guy had said. _

_‘Apparently not_,’ Anko countered. ‘_After the Black Acropolis sank we thought it would take decades for it to rise again, but no other kingdom is as used to losing. Of course they’d revive a couple decades later._’

Sakura bent over the sink and shut her eyes, trying to picture it, a scene from a dream the dogs had to save her from, a black tower swallowed in burning thorns. The power to revolutionize the world beat in its halls, leaking out into inky monsters with teeth all the way down their throats and eyes that glowed with the colors of a dying sun.

Those dreams had been just stupid dreams she thought.

But...

What if they weren't?

What else happened in the dreams. Maybe if she could just remember more-

She gasped and looked up into the mirror again and saw the seal flicker and then fade. She concentrated and pushed against it, turning the mark dark enough to see its rhombus shape.

Kakashi’s seal held.

_‘As long as that holds you won’t be caught up in the game. You don’t need to be a part of this.’_

Guy’s warning made her hesitate.

_‘It’s the last thing he would have wanted. Kakashi only ever wanted to keep you safe.’_

Dinner rolled in her stomach as she grabbed the edges of the sink and braced. Sakura thought of Kakashi, she thought of the monster under the tarp, she thought of the woods, she thought of the card with the drowned man still in her back pocket. She thought about the dreams she never wanted to remember and how someone always seemed to suck them out of her memory.

_‘All he wanted was to protect you.’_

Sakura broke on a sob and that was all it took as the seal shattered with her will and her skin split open, oozing new blood. She choked and the pain was a spear through her mind as a third eye connected it’s nerves to her brain.

A card flickered, turning and revealing the image of a far off night sky, where a single star burned brighter than all the others.**_ The Eye_.** It was the first of her three marks.

The memories came next and she saw it all, the Glass Castle, the Golden Mountain, The Silver Palace, the Black Acropolis, all of them connected on an ever turning ring, where one was forced to sink into the sky beyond the clouds.

She saw the cards falling from each kingdom, soldiers, knights, monsters, champions….each one a means of power that burned itself onto the chosen few.

Dreams showed her other things too, like how a hundred years ago a different man thought he could bring a sparkling kingdom into their world and make a city of dreams out of silver towers. She saw a man with a printing press and a god complex devoured by the beasts of a braver man’s nightmares.

She saw men and women, police officers, doctors, children, and vagabond all bleed from marks then die for them. She saw champions rise and losers fall into their kingdoms, chained to its fate for better or worse.

She saw Kakashi, crying for her as she slept through a nightmare, then sealing away all the bad dreams behind her rhombus. Kakashi, making her breakfast with a smile that betrayed his heart. Kakashi, driving her to school. Kakashi, watching her graduate with tears in his eyes.

Sakura fell to her knees, releasing the sides of the sink as the blood from her new eye mixed with her salted tears. Her chest hurt from the loss and less from the marks that were buzzing with new energy. She braced her hand against her heart and remembered Kakashi once more, kissing her hair as she slept and promising her something. _‘I’m sorry I’m not your real dad, but I’ll keep you safe.’_

“Not fair,” she whispered to the quiet room. “You don’t get to leave me like that. You don’t get to do that…”

One of the dogs whined on the other side of the door. Outside twilight rolled in, making all the shadows the longest they’d be before night swallowed them all up. Anko was in the guest bedroom treating more of her wounds and Guy was…securing the perimeter.

‘_It’s a long story, but if you start it, you can’t be the same person again_.’

Sakura rested a hand over the freckles and swallowed. “Nothing else matters as long as I can get Kakashi back.”

Sakura stood and concentrated. There were three marks on her, a single star masquerading as a freckle on her forehead, and two mirroring versions of the same constellation she had found years and years ago. When she spoke, it was like she was an actor reciting lines fed to her. She didn't know how she knew the words, but they were in her, buried deep and unseen like pale bones. 

“The Power to tear the world asunder and turn the wheel of fate,” she whispered to her reflection. “Give me the power to move kingdoms, **_Crator_**. The power to revolutionize the world!”

Her chest burned and she felt something come out of her, a pair of cards in each hand, one lined in mother of pearl, the other in glittering gold. They burned and she was dizzy with the power. It was too much and she dropped the gold one back into herself, holding the paler one up. The title at the bottom was written in a different language, but then it shifted and she recognized the English.

“_The Chalice_.”

The card melted in her hand and the silver chalice in the picture was there in her palm, heavy enough to tip one way and pour liquid starlight free. The room thrummed with power and Sakura staggered, but didn’t fall.

Arms caught her around her elbow and hip. Her legs went slack but the stranger pulled her to him and grinned, coming into color as he held her up.

“Finally,” she heard him breath in a sigh as soft as velvet. Her face tickled with his breath, winter pine. “I’ve been waiting ages for you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up with the title to this one was a bit of a challenge, it was a three way tie between the three cards we saw in this chapter: The Drowned Man, The Eye, and Crator (which means The Chalice)
> 
> There you go, some fun angst and backstory. Now we know what Sakura wants more than anything and you'll have to keep reading to find out what she'll do or give up to get him back. Thankfully, she won't be alone. She'll have allies...(sexy allies included). Take your best guess at who it was at the end of this chapter. I'm super curious to hear your theories cause I'm sure this one is surprising.
> 
> Tune in next week when I update Saturday at midnight or Sunday morning to catch chapter 3.


	3. The Chalice

Sakura felt sick and her legs refuse to keep her upright, but the stranger made out of opal colored starlight didn’t seem to mind picking her up into his arms. She tried to stand again but only faltered further, feeling tingles all through her body like from a sugar low.

He chuckled and moved her to the edge of the tub, supporting her until her back was up against the back wall, but even then he didn’t let her hand go. His eyes were wide and shining, so bright and clear she could see her reflection in them.

No third eye.

“Settle here for a moment, love, the rush will pass in wink.”

She felt unsettled by the sound of his voice, like it was a sound she was supposed to know but couldn’t place, like something from her childhood. It was a nice, warm sound, one she felt she could wrap herself up in and find some measure of comfort in no matter how wild the world around her grew.

“Who are you?”

“Your most eternally grateful servant, that’s who!” 

He laughed and her bones seemed to shiver at the sound. When he looked back down at her he leaned in to add. 

“But you can call me Asura.”

"I-I'm Sakura."

He chuckled low. "I know."

Sakura reached out and touched his face, just to check and make sure it was real. Only moments ago he had been starlight spilled from a cup.

His skin _felt_ real.

She looked down and touched her freckles, finding half of the ones on her chest changed. Light reflected off them like pearls. She poked one and felt the texture change from skin to smooth polish.

“That’s new,” she breathed, looking up again when he hand settled over hers. “You were the card I pulled out of this mark. I didn’t know that was going to happen.”

“All the same, I’m glad it did. I’m the _much_ better catch between the pair of us, you know. I’m stronger and better looking, just for starters.”

Sakura caught the meaning of his words a heartbeat later. “There was another one inside of me? The other cup?”

He hummed and then moved her hand from her pearl colored freckles to the dull unchanged ones. His fingers slipped off hers to trace the dull pattern there. “The Golden Mountain’s Chalice..he's not nearly as strong. I’m from the Glass Kingdom, so yeah, the better version.”

“Anko said these marks would give me powers but…” Sakura poked at his face again and he chuckled. “I didn’t think it would mean this.”

"Not even in your wildest dreams?" Playfully, he turned his face towards her fingers and kissed her index knuckle. She stiffened but didn’t retreat, making him grin. “Not everyone can manage it, but many of the cards are related to past champions who came close enough to fail at the very end. It’s our own fault, we bound ourselves too close to the game with no mind for the consequences. Speaking of which, that’s what you’re interested in, aren’t you? Winning the game?”

“I… think so. Another person with marks, a player, he lost and now he’s trapped in one of the castles. I can get him out if I win, right?”

“You could break the world if you wanted to after winning.”

Sakura felt her heart pinch at the memory of what she had only a day earlier. “I just want to bring my family back. I’ll do whatever I need to in order to make that happen.”

Asura’s dark eyes flashed and his grin grew wide. “I love it,” he breathed, pushing into her personal bubble until his forehead almost touched hers. “You could unhook the stars themselves if you wished for it with a dedication as steady as yours. I can see it well, you’ll drag hell and heaven in your fists if it means getting what you want.”

“Which you’ll help me with?”

She couldn’t be sure, but she was almost positive she felt a shiver from him when his took in her words. “Of course.”

The dogs on the other side of the door began to bark again and Sakura pulled herself back, sliding off the edge of the tub without help. He reached for her but didn’t take her into his arms again, seeing as how she was able to walk well enough on her own.

Sakura opened the door to the bathroom and a flood of fur and tails poured in. Mop stayed beside Sakura and barked angrily while Ginger, Chainsaw, and Bagel sniffed eagerly at the stranger’s legs.

Asura laughed at their curiosity, kneeling down to run his hands over their fur and offer up his face for licks (which Ginger was eager to give out).

When he straightened again Sakura made it a point to try and figure out the style of his clothing. It wasn’t a style she was familiar with and she was trying to decide if that was because it was from a different world, or and older time in history.

He caught her staring and grinned, smile stretching his handsome face. He had dark brown hair, dark enough it could be black in the dim light, with eyes of the same color.

“Where did you come from?” Sakura finally asked, a little more at ease now that the dogs had given their approval. Even Mop who didn’t exactly like him, didn’t see him as a threat to her.

“The card, and a time before long was long. I couldn’t tell you in any way that would matter, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to watch the world like I have through your mind. The language….” he made an odd shape with his mouth, “is _different_.”

Sakura ran his words back over in her mind and frowned.

“I’m going to not think about how you’ve been spying on me for literal years of my life and just…not go there.”She glanced back into the main room and then the kitchen. “Are you hungry? I can make waffles.”

There was a toaster and syrup somewhere. Her skills in the kitchen didn’t go much further than that.

He followed her out of the bathroom into the living room and peered around, hand at the base of his skull scratching up into his hair. He pulled the wrap off from around his head and then shrugged. “Sure, can’t say no to something new.”

“You’ve never had waffles before?”

He laughed at her expression. “No, just bits and scraps of your memory. You know I wasn’t _exactly_ spying on you like you seem to think. I just get a filtered down afterthought. It’s how us types learn new languages after sleeping for centuries and know how to work developing technologies.”

“Like iphones?”

“I mean yeah, but last time I was out and about the typewriter was a big deal somewhere.” 

“Interesting.”

She gestured for him to follow and she led him to where the mixes and ingredients were. The sink was in front of the window and as she washed the bowls to use again she saw further down the road a police cruiser ambling back.

By the time Guy stomped the dirt off his shoes and stepped inside the first of the waffles were coming off the maker. He blinked once at the new male lounging in a seat at the head of the table and then glared at the door to the spare bedroom.

“Anko took off,” Guy said.

Sakura closed the lid and turned the waffle maker over before looking up. “What are you talking about? She’s just in the guest room. I would have heard her leave.”

“No, my dear, you wouldn’t have.” Guy smiled and it was a shadow of what she was used to.

This new side of the always-cheerful-sorta-uncle figure unsettled her. The sun hung in the sky, the waters of the ocean rolled in waves, grass grew in sunlight, and Guy was made out of cheer. Those were just facts she always understood and knew.

He slid the strap of something off his shoulder and set it on the table with a heavy thunk. He then eyed Asura. “So, which one might you be, sir? I can still feel the magic in my teeth, you couldn’t have been summoned very long ago.”

Asura grinned and then picked up the simmering glass card with his silver chalice on the cover. Guy made a noise of interest and turned the card over before inspecting the image more closely.

“Congratulations, Sakura. A glass card on your first try.”

Sakura freed another two waffles into the dish and poured out enough batter for another set. She turned around to watch Asura stare across the table at Guy. There was an atmosphere there she couldn’t describe, but one she didn’t appreciate.

“Asura, this is Guy. He’s taken care of me before. He’s a friend.”

“He’s a duelist and you competition,” Asura replied through a smile that wasn’t friendly. His eyes crinkled in a look that better suited a snarl than the smile he kept up. Sakura recognized the atmosphere at once, heart plummeting.

She ran to stand between the two, shoulders hiked and ready to brace for an impact while keeping Guy behind her. Asura blinked and his lip curled. A wrinkle set in between his eyes as he leaned forward in his seat and held up a hand.

“Sakura?”

“_No_. Guy is my family and he’s my friend. He helped me when I had no one.” Something made Asura’s mood shift into something unreadable but she went on. “He is _not_ my competition.”

_He watched her like a hunter watched deer out of season._

“The game drives brother against brother, Sakura.”

“There is no blood between us but he is my family.”

Asura held her stare a moment more before he dropped his head along with his posture. Sakura mimicked the action, breathing a sigh of relief.

“The waffles?” Guy began.

Sakura yelped and dashed back for the maker just as it started to beep, flipping it open and over before the waffles inside turned too dark. From the table Guy laughed.

“It’s perfect, I like mine a little dark,” he called.

“Sorry,” Sakura moaned, setting up a new set. “Wanna help set the table for three?”

Asura stood but Guy was already moving to where they kept the plates. He set them out along with a trio of forks and napkins. Asura straightened what was already on the table.

Guy held out a glass and Asura took it before he knew where it went. Guy filled it with filtered water and then did the same for his and Sakura’s glasses.

“It might be better that Anko took off. I’m not sure how she would have reacted if she saw this,” Guy said while patting his satchel.

Sakura brought over a glass dish filled with waffles and wiped her hands on her pants. “What is it?”

“A gift from Kakashi and a little of my own efforts I’m afraid. It’ll do us no good but if you’re as serious about playing this damed game, then it might serve you well.” 

He opened the satchel and pulled a transparent plastic carrying case out.Sakura could see through it the rows of cards laying against each other. Like Asura’s card, they were all thick and long, made of something lighter yet stronger than metal.

Asura stood so suddenly his chair tipped and then clattered back onto its four legs. “Why do you have those?” His glare returned along with the tense atmosphere. “_How_ do you have those?”

“It was a lifetime ago,” he said, looking to Sakura. “And I’m no longer bound to the games if I don’t wish it. I’ve no obligation or desire to hold onto these.”

“How?” Asura stressed. “That’s enough there to-to-” He didn’t finish his words but backed up closer to Sakura.

Sakura opened the case and Guy took his seat again, content to sip is water as Sakura pulled out the cards. Each one was faded to the point where lines that once made the images on a card no longer showed up. All the cards were like that, no matter if they had a red or black or gold or silver or glass boarder. 

“These look like my cards, but they’re all blank.” Sakura showed one to Asura who still seemed unnerved. He took it as an invitation and approached her side, hovering over her shoulder.

“They’re _unchallenged _which makes them blank like that. Each one is a challenge, a trial, a duel you must best in order to build your own deck.” He picked one up and then tapped her forehead. “See if you can see it.”

Sakura didn’t know what he meant, even if she knew he was referring to the third eye that slept like a forgotten bundle of nerves behind a lilac freckle. She didn’t know how to open it.

When she looked up at him he smiled down at her, a head and a half taller. “Just try.”

Sakura turned a new card over and held it up alongside Kakashi’s **Drowned Man **card. She saw his face and felt the pang in her chest, followed by a shard of anger. How dare he keep this truth from her and then lose his freedom to it. He was her dad, he belonged to her.

There was heat that made her eyes tear up. Salt washed her face, and there was a ripping sound as the skin around her third eye grew its slit. Clear liquid slipped free and dripped down her face but she forced the lids open sideways to allow the eye to roll forward and see the world. Her vision stung and she shut her natural eyes to it, concentrating only on what her third eye could see.

There was something there, something under a layer of snow or ash-no, stardust. Beyond the layers of obscuring dust she could see a new world there, a world where stars hung in the sky making a constellation she recognized. A lion was roaring inside the card and it grew more clear.

With a gasp she felt her eye lids snap shut, shedding a new wave of salt tears down her forehead. She blinked and was able to see anew with her own two eyes. She shook all over and when she stumbled Asura was there to ground her. She felt his lips in her hair, whispering words into her skull she couldn’t understand.

“What….did you see?” Guy asked, leaning forward.

“**Leo**, the lion constellation.” Sakura looked down at the gold bordered card. “But there was more to it than just an image. There was-there were layers, a world to the card.”

Asura chuckled behind her. “You think we just hung out inside a closet for thousands of years? Of course we had our own worlds. Didn’t make the wait any less terrible but, tis the nature of the games you lose.”

“Lost,” Sakura breathed, noticing for the first time that Kakashi’s card image was fainter than it had been when she first picked it up, not by much, but…something. “Is that what’s happening to Kakashi?!”

“_Eventually_ he’ll look like these guys, but before then you’ll be able to try and free him now that you’re a delist in the games,” Guy said. “But such a thing is not easily achieved.”

“How long until I can save him?”

“It depends,” Asurainterjected, glancing at Guy over her head. “If you’re strong and blessed with many victories it’s always faster and easier. If it is your desire, I will help you conquer the lessers and make great your empire.”

Sakura could still see Kakashi when she looked for him, and didn’t want his picture to fade before she could save him. She replaced the Leo card and held Kakashi’s to her chest.

“I think it’s time for waffles first. We can talk later.”

* * *

Asuraended up adoring her waffles, and ate almost as much as Guy. He seemed to even tolerate Guy’s presence at the table until it was time to turn in for the night.

“I’ll be bunking with the new kid,” Guy explained while Sakura washed dishes.

“Huh?” Asuraturned sharply, drying towel slapping his forearms. “What do you mean, you’ll be bunking with me? Sakura, is he staying with us?”

Guy laughed and this time the tense atmosphere was his fault, not Asura’s. “Of course. Adult or not, I’ll not leave Sakura here with a strange man all alone.”

“I wouldn’t do anything to harm her! Sakura’s my duelist.” He glanced back at Sakura, looking to her like she was supposed to jump to his defense. When she said nothing his face fell. “You believe me, right Sakura?”

Her shoulder shrug carried a very strong ‘what are you going to do’ feeling. “I don’t outright suspect you, but I appreciate Guy’s offer. We _did_ just meet.”

“B-But what if something happened to you, or if someone tried to target you in the night?” He glared over at Guy. “_He’d_ not be able to do anything anymore with his inactive mark.”

Guy smiled in the way parents smiled at whining children who were fated to never get what they wanted with their whining. That only seemed to further irritate Asura.

“I think we’ll be fine for the night. If you don’t want to share a room, I’ll put down sheets for the couch out here in the living room. Better?”

“I’d rather keep you in my sights.”

Sakura glanced up at Guy. “Maybe I could keep my door open a crack?”

“No need for that. Close your door. I’ll hear anything out of order in the night.” He looked over at Asurawhen he spoke about the door. “But you’re right, tonight will likely be a quiet night. In the morning when you start to dig into this mess and wake up more cards it will be a different story. Get your good night sleep now. The morning will bring its own trials.”

With it decided, Sakura set up the bed for Asura , never minding how he hovered nearby, looking as stressed as he had when he didn’t know how to set the table. She left him with a pillow and he made sure to remind her he would be a door away if she needed him or felt unsafe. Guy watched him from the archway to Kakashi’s old room, smiling when Sakura waved to him goodnight behind her dogs. With the door closed and the lights turned out, it was only the moonlight that helped her see.

In the sickly silver light she approached the mirror on her closet door. Sakura reached up and ran a hand over the slit of skin that still hadn’t fully sealed from when she opened her third eye earlier. Her fingers trailed down and she pulled at her shirt, showing off the freckles. In the moonlight half of them twinkled with sick moonlight.

‘_It’s a long story, but if you start it, you can’t be the same person again_.’

Swallowing, Sakura pawed at her shirt until it was a wrinkle on the carpet and turned slowly, exploring the rest of her body for marks. She found nothing out of the ordinary, but when she turned back fully around she couldn’t help but shrink from the sight of herself.

“What’s happened to you?” she asked aloud. Her finger pointed to the part of the glass where her forehead was and its slit reflected back her perfect look of horror.

Y_ou can’t be the same person again_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats to those of you who guessed correct. Sakura has two different Chalice markings on her chest, one from the Glass deck and one from the Gold deck. If Asura is the one from the Glass deck who do you think the other Chalice is from the Gold deck? 
> 
> This one is a shorter chapter but I still like it enough for Sakura's interactions with Asura. He's a fun one to write but there are going to be more and I'm super excited to see them pop up next week.
> 
> So it's got me wondering, who else do you think might be locked inside a card or a part of these games?


	4. Hydra

Kakashi set down the paper bag on the table and moved away only long enough to get a pair of plates for himself and the girl. He started to remove the apples from the paper bag, lifting each on to his good eye to inspect before setting aside.

Once the paper bag was empty he replaced it on the floor and sat down in front of it with a knife. He took the biggest, reddest, juiciest looking apple and began to peel it with his knife, dropping the swirl of apple peel into the bag on the floor while she watched on.

He hummed quietly while he worked, and before long the able was naked of its skin and easily partitioned into slices for her plate. He pushed the plate with her apple slices towards her and then picked out a new apple to begin peeling.

Sakura watch him while he worked, spotting the bruise on the apple staining its side every time Kakashi rotated it around in his hands. Before much longer it was just as bare as hers and easily cut into slices. He ate the bruised slices, content with the imperfect fruit after having so carefully picked out a perfect specimen for her.

“I want one with a spot on it too,” Sakura breathed.

Kakashi looked up and frowned. “That’s a bruise. Eating those is no good for you.”

“_You_ ate it.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Kakashi shrugged. “It doesn’t make a difference to me if something is a bit bruised. I don’t mind.”

For a heartbeat Sakura pretended he wasn’t talking about the apple.

Kakashi took another slice off his plate and absently chewed it, not really watching or looking at anything while all she could do was stare with eyes too big for her small, malnourished face.

“I wanna be like you. I wanna eat one with spots.”

Kakashi stopped chewing and looked up at her. She thought he was going to say something to rebuke her, maybe something like ‘no you don’t’ or ‘don’t be silly.’ Instead, he just stared for a while before pushing away his plate to inspect the rest of the apples on the table.

“None of these are bruised.” He stood. “I can go get some more.” He hesitated. “If…that’s what you still want.”

“You just got back.”

“It doesn’t matter to me if that’s what you want.”

There wasn’t a good enough reason for it, but Sakura couldn’t help herself.

She started to cry.

* * *

Guy had been mistaken.

The night hadn’t passed on uneventful.

Dark beasts slouched between the spaces left by ancient trees. Wicked things depended on lesser creatures and the soil soaked up their blood. Asura watched some of them from the window and smiled at others. With his teeth bared, his smile was a warning too clear not to ignore and the small cabin slept on, not even the dogs any wiser.

It was the hour when twilight’s equal ushered in the morning mist off a nearby lake, and began to light the world in colors that Sakura roused. It was too early. She knew it was too early for her to be waking up on her own, and that if she was awake there had to be some other reason for it.

Bagel was so closer her fingers had found his soft fur in her sleep and entwined there. Mop whined from behind her and she rolled over to look where his pointed stare was directed. Ginger and Chainsaw were both under her bed, a usual haunt for her golden, but not the Terrier. 

She slipped out of bed into a pair of wrinkled jeans left on the floor and stumbled towards the door. A jacket hung on the wall next to the door she grabbed as she passed. Mop and Bagel dashed after her, hot on her heels. Kakashi’s door was left open and the dogs were gone too.

“Asura?”

He was at her elbow, cupping his hand under it. “Outside,” he hissed. “He met her only a moment ago and took the dogs.”

“Something’s wrong though,” Sakura hissed back, running into her boots and leaving the laces to dangle free. “Why didn’t you go with him?”

“I’m here to keep _you_ safe.” He matched her hurried steps with ease as Sakura took the stairs down the pouch, two at a time.

Sakura saw Guy’s car still in the driveway and then hugged the edges of the cabin, heading towards the back where the tarp was supposed to still be. There was more than just the tarp when she rounded the bend and found what her dogs were barking for.

“Guy!”

The back of his head was bleeding and Sakura’s hands trembled at the sight. She touched his face and he groaned, making her breathing go a little easier. He was hurt but alive.

Asura bent down next to her and inspected his arm where the freckles were scattered and dark, yet unactivated. “He hasn’t joined the game.”

“Wh-who?” Sakura swallowed. “You said that a woman was here. Was it Anko?”

“I’m not sure who that is, but it was a woman who asked him out.” He looked up over her head and glared. “I don’t think she’s far from this place. Where are his cards?”

She remembered the satchel from last night and stood up. The cards that meant being able to see Kakashi again. The satchel wasn’t on him, so that meant he left the cards behind.

“_Inside_.”

Mop started barking viciously at the window up above them, the one that connected to Sakura’s room.

“Bagel, go!” Sakura commanded, throwing her hand out to gesture to the fastest in her pack. Mop started to follow but Sakura pointed to Guy and said, “_Protect_.” The Irish wolfhound bared his teeth and stood over Guy while Asura, Sakura, and the rest ran. She knew better than to ask Asura to watch over Guy.

The door was left open from when they ran out earlier, but nothing else looked touched. It wasn’t a large cabin, just large enough for a handful or rooms with corners.

Asura grabbed her shoulders and moved ahead of her and she saw that the hair around his face was standing up, more rugged than usual as something like static circled around his frame. He bent low and stalked towards Guy’s room. Hand on the door he pushed it open and then was knocked backwards across the hall into Sakura’s room. Inside Anko stood with a hand outstretched. A scattering of freckles glowed on her palm, not unlike the ones on her neck Kakashi had sealed up after the last game.

“You?!” Sakura raged as her brain caught up. “Kakashi came to help you!”

Anko turned her snake slit eyes onto Sakura and saw the shine of more marks. She hissed and dashed for the cards left scattered on the floor. She scooped a handful for herself and ran to the window.

She had lured Kakashi out, failed to help him at best and damed him at worst, then came back only to steal the only way Sakura knew how to bring him back.

She tasted bile in her throat as she ran, right out of her boots, skidding into the room and launching herself at Anko. The pair of them fell out the window in a rain of glass and tumbled out onto the porch.

Something with teeth bit at her but Sakura opened her third eye before she knew what she was doing and there was black fire burning up the head of a snake. Anko screamed and kicked away. Sakura almost tumbled off the ledge but Asura was there, burning with his own intensity. He caught her, sucked in a breath at the sight of her, then rounded with a war cry of his own.

Anko shook off Biscuit who went flying back into the house and then grabbed the railing, readying to launch herself off. From nowhere a blade cut through the air and bit into her shoulder. Sakura saw it raise again but not before Anko’s nearest arm turned into a mess of snakes to wind up around his hand and hilt. The sword melted into starlight and then it was a battle ax in his free hand, swinging clean through all her snake heads to free his bound arm.

Biscuit was up again and readying himself to launch, but Sakura screamed at him to hold. Anko spit and it burned where it landed on Asura’s clothes. With a shriek she sprayed and he had to turn away to keep the burn off his face. She took that opportunity to launch from the railing and race for the woods.

“Not this time, witch,” he snarled, following close behind.

Sakura watched, pulling herself up and finding the bruises all over her body from what hurt the most. Her hands were littered with tiny cuts and she knew her face wasn’t much better. Like a curtain snapping shut her third eye and the black flames were gone and she felt far more winded than she should have.

Biscuit whined at her and Ginger and approached her as well, whining too loudly to ignore. She didn’t know where Chainsaw. 

Sakura saw a burst of light, not like lightning, but no less brilliant. She couldn’t help it, she looked, saw a halo of shivering cards in the air that darted off on their own, and then it was too much and she had to cover herself as the forest boomed with impact. It wasn’t an explosion, but it was something close. The air was thick with magic as shockwave after shockwave pushed her back into the wall.

When the dust cleared Asura was proper up against a tree and Anko was nowhere to be found.

And as dust is ought to do, it settled.

Sakura dragged Asura back into the house, feeling like the world’s biggest bruise. She left him on the couch and hoped he wasn’t broken before going back for Guy. He was sitting up and blinking when she found him again. Mop barked hoping to be praised. With a coo she scratched Mop behind the ears and then knelt down beside Guy.

“How is your head?”

“I’ll be fine. Anko-she-” he glanced up and saw beyond the corner of the property the edges of the earlier impact. The ground was ash colored and the sides of trees had huge chunks of their bark stained the same color. “She found the cards.”

“She and Asura fought over them, I saw them fly off right before the explosion.”

“It’s what they’re designed to do in such an event, to keep themselves safe. Did she get to all of them?”

Sakura remembered Kakashi’s card still on her nightstand and the handful left on the floor in Kakashi’s bedroom. It was barely a fraction of what they once had. “Most of them.”

“Not all?”

Sakura shook her head and then helped him up. Inside she fetched ice for him as he texted into the office putting out an APB on Anko as a person of interest in a missing person investigation.

“No one is going to be able to find Kakashi, though.”

“Doesn’t matter. We keep up appearances least the lies overwhelm us.”

Sakura felt like there would be plenty of lies she never counted on keeping before long.

Sakura swallowed, hating how she felt inside, watching Guy ice himself and Asura sleep on. “I’m so sorry about the cards. I didn’t think she would be someone to-I trusted her too easily.”

“We both did. The cards she didn’t take, bring them here and keep them safe. I’ll need to leave soon but not before you’re ready to come back with me. This place is too far away from anything else to be safe, but it’s good for the games.”

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked even as she moved to do as he told her.

Aside from Kakashi’s, there were three other cards left behind.That was much less than a full deck of twenty two.

“Basically, and the beginning of the games, dualists are chosen with marks like the ones you an I have. But the more marks they earn the stronger they become. Each card gives them a constellation, but not without a trail. Each contestant must fight or work to ‘invert’ the card or bring out its image, and only then may he or she don the new mark.”

“And some cards suck you in for a trial, but others let things loose into your world for it.”

Guy and Sakura both turned to see Asura sitting up from his spot on the couch, holding the front of his face and blinking rapidly. When he stopped pulling himself up his eyes went wide and he dropped his hand before a final blink and he turned to face them, no worse for wear as far as she could tell.

“You’re okay,” Sakura breathed, deflating a bit.

He didn’t look away for her as he swung himself up over the back of the couch and approached her at the table. When he was close enough he touched the edges of her face with the pads of his fingertips, sucking in a breath when she flinched.

“You’re bleeding.”

“It’s from the glass.” Sakura explained, knowing she hadn’t managed to come out unscathed.

“Asura, the first aid kit is behind the mirror in the bathroom. Grab it,” Guy instructed.

Sakura thought Asura might argue or ruffle at the command, but he disappeared without complaint and came back with the kit in hand. He opened it for Guy and held out his hand for the things Sakura would need.

“Use this to clean the cuts,” Guy told him, handing over a pad that was cold and stung when it touched her cuts.

Sakura bit her lip and endured it as Asura carefully tended and treated her wounds. He used bandaids for a few of the worst cuts when Guy told him to, and did the same on her neck and hands where other shards of glass had trailed red through her skin.

“It’ll be worse than this in some of the trials,” Guy sighed, watching one of her wounds being cleaned.

“No, it won’t,” Asura quickly interjected. “This will be the worst. I-I’ll keep anything else from happening to you. We won’t be caught off guard like that again.”

Sakura pulled her hand away and then reached for his, forcing Asura to look up at her face instead of her wounds and see her smile. It made him still.

“Thank you, Asura. It would have been far worse if you weren’t there.”

-

They all cleaned up and ate. Sakura fed the dogs and packed up her things while Guy and Asura managed some temporary patch over the window she had broken. The monster under the tarp stayed where it was, no one having the energy or motivation to do more with it.

Before too long Guy was helping her into the cruiser and then leaving Asura to slid in himself behind her and the rest of the dogs. They all agreed that it was too risky for anyone to stay at the cabin, being as remote as it was. If someone or something came for her, she’d be than much further from others.

Sakura glanced down at Kakashi’s card where in addition to his drowned drawing, there were a number of hounds she recognized from her childhood. No wonder they lived so long.

“Anko isn’t the only one in this race. There are others you must be weary of, even if they aren’t your outright enemy.”

“Everyone is an enemy,” Asura added in a whisper, watching Guy with distrust.

It took an hour to make the drive back, and in that time the three of them had come up with a decent enough explanation for Asura’s presence. He could make himself unseeable to those outside of the game, or virtually invisible, but it would serve him better to save his energies for other things and not wast himself on cantrips. 

The driveway was long, but not as long as the one to the cabin. By the time they were halfway to the house and past all the heavy foliage, the outline of Yamato’s cruiser came into view.

Sakura went stiff. “What is he doing here?”

A second figure got out and Sakura went from stiff to enraged.

“What are both of them doing here?”

“Who?” Asura asked, leaning forward.

Sakura pointed and named both the figures before glaring back over at Guy. “Kakashi isn’t even a missing person officially until I file a report I thought. Why are they here?”

“A police chief going missing is a serious matter, and even if it’s not official they’ll want to be in on it to help. Besides, both of them have marks.”

Sakura sat back in her seat, stunned. “But they’re…”

“Yamato is the only one who knows about it. Shisui is an anomaly we would rather watch closely than not watch at all since he’s not marked like you and I. But don’t worry, I’ll be speaking with them. They’ll understand if I tell them you and your _cousin_ are exhausted and need to rest.”

“Second cousin,” Asura corrected, sounding just as instant on the detail as he had the first eight times it had come up.

Guy chuckled but Sakura just rolled her eyes as Guy parked. With an open door all of Sakura’s dogs filtered out, climbing over seats to be free until it was only Sakura and Asura left behind in the back passenger seats. Sakura’s heart pinched a bit when she thought about Kakashi’s dogs and how they seemed to have disappeared into the night. Calling them and whistling them to come back did nothing. Just like him, they were trapped someplace she couldn’t reach.

Guy stood talking with Yamato and Shisui, but Sakura still ducked her head, running a hand through her bangs to cover as much of her face as possible before exiting. She knew it was a long shot, but she hoped to get inside before either officer could see her. An hour later all her cuts and bruises only looked worse.

She was on the bottom steps to the porch when Shisui called out her name. She groaned and hiked her shoulders even further. When she turned she saw the exact moment he saw her face.

“H-hey, are you okay? What happened to your face? Sakura?”

He sounded sincere, but she had endured too many years of his teasings to believe anything he said.

“Guuuuuy!” she called.

“Hmm?” He turned around to look at her. Beside him Yamato flinched.

“Do I owe this officer an explanation?”

Shisui began to sputter but Guy waved to her and called out that he would take care of it, that she needed to go in and rest. Shisui tried asking again but Sakura shielded her face behind a curtain of hair and took the steps two at a time.

“He-hey, who are you? You can’t just go in there.” Shisui stopped in front of Asura, scowling at how he was a half a head shorter. “What are you doing with Sakura and Guy?”

Asura’s smile curled at the corners. Almost mocking Sakura’s earlier voice he called to Guy. “_Guuuuy_, do _I_ owe this officer an explantation too?”

Guy sighed, rubbing his face. “No, I’ll handle it. Just go inside and check up on Sakura, please.”

Shisui gaped and Asura slipped behind him, smiling like the cat that got the cream. When he walked in behind Sakura he was still smiling.

“You should have seen his face. Hey, Sakura…Sa-Sakura?”

She stood in the middle of the hallway, looking into the living room, the kitchen further back, and then up the stairs to the second floor.

To her left the wall stretched on with a handful of shut doors, leading downstairs and into side rooms filled with books and junk Kakashi never could get rid of. A pair of his old boots lay messily next to her sandals. The hooks by the front door still hung his police jacket and her cardigan.

Everything was as she left it.

But there was no Kakashi.

“Sakura?” he tried her name again and touched her shoulder.

Like a house of cards she crumbled at the touch, falling to her knees and holding herself as the tears came. She cried from the pain that came from somewhere deeper than memory. A long time ago she had wept for the darkness and solitude, crying out for someone to save her.

Kakashi had been there once, but now even he was gone.

She didn’t care if they could hear her crying from outside. The walls weren’t thin, but neither were her sobs as she bit her palms to keep the sobs from breaking her apart.

She heard Asura kneel down beside her, his hand on her shoulder keeping it warm. He tugged her off her knees into his arms and tucked her head under his chin, careful to not touch the bruises on her face. He touched her scalp and followed the long trail of hair, petting stray pieces back against her skull. He made a rhythm out of it that helped ease her sobs into something manageable.

He kissed her hair and whispered close to her ear, voice cracking. “It-It’s going to be okay. We’ll get him back. We’ll do anything you want, just don’t cry.”

Outside, Shisui stood in place, staring at the front door and listening to her cries while Yamato and Guy pretended their hearts weren’t breaking for her sorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh noes, it's an emotional chapter with plenty of ups and downs. Poor Sakura does not deserve the stress that she is in for but she is a champ about it (plus she's getting some tasty eye candy to help). 
> 
> Thank you guys for all the love and support.


	5. Leo the Lion

A shower later Sakura came out feeling better, but still close to horrible every timeshe walked into a room to find it empty. Still, after her cry it was a horror she managed to push down enough to function.

She would need to if she wanted to be useful.

“Do you know why I had three marks instead of just two or one?”

Asura looked up from where he had beed playing with Ginger. The Golden retriever whined and pawed at his still hands, wanting more. He blinked at Sakura, the first time seeing her since her sobbing fest on the doorstep.

“That-I don’t know. It would have to be something Kakashi answered, I take it. Sometimes marks can be passed on to substitutes if they’ve won, but…” He ducked his head and stood, avoiding her eyes. “I don’t have the answer right now.”

“Is it important to know?” she asked, touching the front of her flannel pajamas. Underneath the fabric her freckles still vibrated with a far off power. “Anko called them something weird.”

“Secondary and tertiary, it just means your second set and third set and I think she just wanted to sound fancy. The mark you were born with, the one that destined you for the games was _probably_ this one,” he said, pointing to his forehead. “It’s a lucky one too. The Eye from the Glass Kingdom is a powerful card, just, not as powerful as _me_.”

She asked if glass cards were more powerful than gold or black cards and he explained that it all depended on the card itself and its history. Every game came with a new set or rankings. When she didn’t ask anything else he reached for her hands and tugged her closer, careful to avoid the cuts along her fingers.

“I want to bring Kakashi back now.”

“It’s late. You should rest.”

It was the same as Guy’s warning, to not do anything until the morning when he would be back. It didn’t help her restlessness. She swallowed, knowing there was plenty of daylight left.

“I don’t think I can. Please.”

He seemed to come undone at her ‘_please_’ if his face crumbling was any clue. “Put something warm on first,” he said, looking away from her.

Fifteen minutes later she was leading him out the back gate into the woods, somewhere near enough to be safe but also far enough to minimize the dangers. If the games were starting up again there would be more of those ‘enforcers’ roaming the woods and looking for duelists to provoke or consume. Sakura had no desire to meet another creature like the one under the tarp, so they kept the house in sight, but just barely.

“It’ll be pretty safe for you, since I’m here to do the heavy lifting. If it’s a battle card, I fight in your place,” Asura explained.

“What if it’s not a battle card? You said there were puzzle cards too.”

“Yeah, something tells me you’re going to do fine with those.” He glanced back at her over his shoulder and grinned. “I can already tell that my duelist is super smart!”

She couldn’t help but blush a bit. “How could you tell such a thing?”

“You left most of your books out. I had a look through them while you cleaned up.” His thumb rubbed over her fingers where they were joined. “You’re so studious. So many of them had notes and colored marks.”

“Th-that doesn’t make me smart. Sometimes I struggle a lot with the material and have to spend hours going over it. Pl-plus that’s for school. Everyone does that much.” 

He chuckled and then tugged on her hand to stop them. “This should be far enough. Do you have the cards?”

Sakura pulled a modest stack out from her hoodie’s front pocket. At the top was the blank card that had once been Guy’s. Anko had called him the ‘Golden Lion’ and Sakura had put two and two together when she saw the old constellation on his arm. She held up Leo the Lion and the early evening light made the gold edges glow.

“What now?”

“Do you remember when you called me?” he touched the spot on his chest where her marks would have been. “Do you remember using your power then?”

Sakura took a half step back and held up the card. She inhaled and felt for the current of power, that was new and burning in her. The mark on her forehead and chest throbbed as new magic drained out of them to sink into the card. A design started to emerge and the clearer it became the more distorted the world around them turned.

The trees warped, stretching higher and thinner until they were as white as the wicks of candles lit afire by a passing shooting star. Somewhere deep in the burning forest there was a lion roaring.

“Beautiful, you did fantastic,” Asura praised, reaching for both her hands and tugging her close. He kissed the crown of her skull and then tugged her along. “We have to find the lion and trap him inside your card next. I’ll keep you safe, come on!”

She could feel the heat from the burning trees as the ran in between their rows. Just past the edges of the firelight there were creatures slinking in and out of shadows, always only in the corner of her vision.

She could tell they were getting close to something when the flames went from red to blue and flickered into shapes of agonized bodies, screaming on a pyre.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m with you,” Asura panted as he pulled her along. “Don’t fear. I got you.”

As hot as it was, as terrible as the flames felt, Sakura didn’t sweat, she just suffered the feeling of burning up with heat. She thought it would become too much and she would have to shed her layers when Asura pulled her back, just out of the path of a crackling tree falling right across their path. Another fell just behind them, hemming them in.

“A trap?” Sakura gasped.

“Not for me,” he laughed, holding out his hand. His palm glowed with white light and then he sung an enormous fan into existence.

“That’ll only make the flames worse!” Sakura exclaimed.

“Not like this it won’t. Watch.”

He roared and swung the fan wide. A gust shook the trees and shattered the fallen log, scatter its pieces back into the folds of the forest. The rest of the flames recovered with a vengeance, burning brighter.

At the end of the path, now that he had cleared it, a white red lion stood atop a stone, eyes burning like white fires while the red flames of his mane flickered around its face. It roared and Asura’s fan turned into a sword he wielded with skill and speed.

"Keep your eyes on me and stay impressed," Asura laughed, sounding so self confident while Sakura could only tremble.

There was so much magic in the air around them, it was stifling, yet that didn't even make Asura flinch-if anything it seemed to invigorate him. 

The lion charged and the two clashed.

Sakura watched, awestruck as the two bodies battled. Asura had always felt or looked human to her, but when he moved he flickered into something non corporal, glittering like milky starlight that couldn’t be touched by Leo’s claws.

Clash

_Clash_

** _Clash_ **

But then the flames were between her and the scene and she couldn’t see Asura anymore. She couldn’t see anything anymore. She screamed for him and ran where she could, searching for a break she could get around. She got turned around, because she could have sworn they were in front of her, but behind her she heard Asura scream. When she looked that way Leo had his claws in Asura’s chest.

“Run, Sakura!”

Leo turned his face her way and it was like looking at the sun. Sakura winced and felt her knees bend. She was shaking, and knew it was fear that made her falter. Asura called for her again, screaming at her to get out, to leave him and stay safe.

Leo roared and his jaws stretched wide to bite at Asura’s face.

Sakura screamed and moved before she knew what she was doing. She ran like a fool and reached to push the lion’s body off Asura. And it shouldn’t have worked like it did, but Asura screamed that she was going to die if she didn’t turn back, just as she reached them. Leo’s teeth released Asura around the throat just as she reached them. She burned her hands on its body but it stumbled off Asura.

So close she could see how small she was compared to the Lion. It towered taller than a horse and when it roared, her whole body fit in its mouth.

There were tears on her face but she didn’t move. She stood over Asura and cried, too scared to regret her choices.She felt her third eye and prayed it would save her because she wasn’t sure what else she would do.

_Please, I don't want to lose anyone else again!_

She pooled what she could of her magic into the space behind her forehead, gambling on it being enough to open her third lid.

_Don't leave me alone again._

_ **Snap** _

The trees stopped burning and the illusion under her feet melted.

The real Asura called to Sakura from across the forest floor, leaping away from the fire monster that extinguished like a wet candle. He screamed when he saw how close the lion was to her, but Leo didn’t advance.

The lion stretched his face towards her, flames flickering from his mane.She heard his voice in her head and stiffened.

_“What a small thing you are to stand up to me. You were brave. Worthy indeed.”_

It roared and its form melted into a single flame that washed over her. Sakura braced for the sting of a burn, but she remained untouched aside from a scattering of freckles over her wrist, glowing gold and warm.

Asura whooped and grabbed her around the waist, spinning her around and turning with her lifted up as the world melted back.

“You did it!” he cheered. “You’ve won your first card. Oh, I should have known it was a Character Test. Your _heart_ was tried and the Golden Lion found you brave enough to dwell in.”

Sakura blinked, still a bit too shocked. “But I was so scared.” The tears were still on her face. “I thought it was going to eat you.”

“As if it could! Oh, but you were brilliant.” He let her down but continued to hold her waist for support when it looked like her legs were made out of jelly. “I’m so terribly delighted. Lets try another card!”

“_Asura_,” Sakura whined, still feeling tears in her eyes. She dropped her head onto his chest and he chuckled, tugging her closer.

“Or maybe it’s time you actually got that rest we were all bugging you about.” He started to head back towards the house, just as evening bloomed out of afternoon skies.

Sakura followed along, finding the strength in her legs once more.

She changed into pajamas and stoked the fireplace while Asura followed her directions in the kitchen. A pizza was in the oven, baking for the pair of them. She turned on the television and loaded an old movie she didn’t plan on paying too much attention to and then called Chainsaw up onto her lap while the other dogs lounged around the fire, happy for the heat. It crackled soothingly as an old episode of something in black and white played on the television.

Asura looked so proud of himself when he brought the pizza into the living room and served her a slice, keeping the rest out of reach from the dogs. When she thanked him he beamed.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

She hummed, pulling her slice up over Chainsaw’s head when he barked for a bite. With her free hand she pushed him back into the cushions and even though he yipped in frustration, his tail wagged.

“Sleepier than I thought I’d be,” she admitted around a yawn.

“It’s been an exhausting day.”

Asura helped himself to a couple of slices as Sakura mulled over his words. The weekend was ending, but without school in the morning she had nothing to look forward to. Her plans had always been to enjoy the time off with Kakashi, doing something recreational in nature that they would both end up frustrated with and then laugh off.

It still hurt to even think of him, but Sakura was the type of person that couldn’t help but pick at her scabs and push on her bruises. She thought of Kakashi and it was like a knife twisting in her heart.

Asura’s hand on the high bend of her knee brought her back to the present. He was sitting down by her feet, on the cushion she had stuffed her toes under while curling up on the couch. There was pizza sauce at the corner of his mouth.

“I’m so proud of you and all you’ve done. You deserve to rest, not just your body, but your heart too. If it pains you that much, think about other things.”

Sakura laughed and it sounded wet, even in her own ears. “Like what?”

“You could always think about me!” He pulled back to strike a comical pose. “I’m new and interesting and you probably don’t know too much about me yet. Ask me, ask me something.”

“Will you answer?”

“Of course.” He pouted and leaned in. “That doesn’t count as a question, by the way.”

Sakura wiggled her toes under the couch cushion he sat on top of. “Okay then, what’s your favorite food.”

“I like lots of sea food, fresh caught squid and plenty of fish with butter and herbs.” He took a bit of her pizza and moaned a little happy moan. “But I really like this pizza too.”

“It’s okay,” Sakura agreed. “It’s better when you order it for delivery. This is freezer pizza, so it’s pretty sub par.”

He licked a chunk of tomato off his thumb and stuffed the rest of his pizza crust into his mouth, chewing around it to talk. “I think it’s fantastic. What are _your_ favorite foods?”

“I thought you wanted me to ask questions about you.”

“It’s a give and take thing. So, what is it? What do you like most?”

Sakura reached for another slice just a bit bigger than her hand and bit off the tip, catching a chunk of pepperoni with her teeth. “I like a lot of food as long as it’s prepared well. When I was younger I had a real sweet tooth. You’ll have to try french fries some time, along with a good burger. I’m weak for takeout food.”

“I’m familiar with he concept but…” his words trailed off as his gaze moved from her to a nearby window. “I’ve not yet had the pleasure. Will you take me?”

“Sure, I think I can manage that much.” She ignored the proper end of the pizza and bit off a chunk of crust. “How much of my life are you familiar with, anyway?”

“Facts and learned truths are easier, but I don’t know how you feel about things or people. I didn’t see things through a peephole. I just sort of, absorbed parts of your life. I know what french fries are, I have no idea what they taste like. I know who Shisui Uchiha is, but I have no idea how you feel about him or Yamato or…or anyone else for that matter.”

“Interesting,” Sakura murmured, returning to the sauce and cheese of her pizza.

Asura leaned in. “So, what do you think of the members of Kakashi’s police force?”

When Sakura glared he grinned. “I answered one of _your_ questions. Help me out, I just want to know better.”

“Shisui is an Uchiha, so his family has connections in the city. He’s interning here for a couple of years, but he should be moving on soon. Yamato was trained by Kakashi and was an underclassman from forever ago, so he’s pretty close to our family.”

“I know those things. What is your feeling or opinion of these men?”

Sakura finished off her pizza slice. “Shisui is a spoiled brat that teases too much and Yamato would be someone I’d feel comfortable trusting.”

“But not the Uchiha?”

Sakura hoped she wasn’t blushing. “Don’t think any more about it, it’s not a big deal. He’s just sorta a bully, but the harmless variety. I find him annoying.”

Asura laughed and reached over to scratch Chainsaw who was sniffing in the cushions for crumbs. “Good to know, good to know.”

“Your turn, what’s your relationship with this other guy?” Sakura traced the pattern of dull colored freckles mirroring Asura’s pearl colored ones. “The other card has a man in it just like you. What do you know of him? Are you twins?”

“Ugh, you’re going to ask me about my brother, of all things?” He pouted. “That’s not a question about _me_.”

“You made me talk about an _Uchiha_, get used to it.”

“His name is Indra, and he’s my brother. We’re not close. He tried to kill me once. When we lost the games we fall into cards from different kingdoms, but we ended up championing the same card somehow. He’s useless and not worth the trouble.”

Sakura watched him a moment more and then reached back to find her water canister. “You said that, but,” she began, taking a sip. “I can’t help but think you want to see him again.”

He flushed from ear to ear. “I-I just said he wasn’t worth the trouble. Wh-why would you think some-something like that, eh?”

“You have a falling out or something?” she guessed.

“You’re asking another question but its my turn!”

“So you _did_ have a falling out.”

“Don’t confirm what I didn’t say all on your own. And-and don’t you know this isn’t the easiest thing to talk about? Don’t you have estranged family?”

Sakura sipped her water and then popped the ‘p’ at the end of a simple, ’nope.’ Asura only groaned in frustration.

“Kakashi is the only family I have, and he’s not even technically my dad. He adopted me years ago but…he never married or took in a significant other and he never had any other children I could call siblings, so I have no idea what it’s like. All I know is Kakashi, and…and since he’s been taken from me, I know I’d do anything to see him again, to hear his voice, to talk with him even if he’s scolding me for forgetting my phone someplace stupid. I’d give anything to have him back again, so I’m sorry if I can’t understand why you wouldn’t want to be with your brother.” 

Asura poked at the feet she had burrowed under the cushion he sat on. “It sounds like your Kakashi was a pretty neat guy, even if he wasn’t your real dad. He must have cared for you a lot.”

“…He did, but he was a mess in the beginning not knowing how to take care of a child, much less an emotionally stunted little girl that couldn’t remember anything or even speak for the six months.”

“You couldn’t speak?”

Sakura shook her head. “Completely nonverbal. I regained that ability later on and it’s probably the best memory I have, seeing his face after I asked him for seconds at diner. He just looked so-”

Words failed her as Sakura remembered back to the moment, when shock melted into joy and the tears came up to spill from his eyes. He told her he’d give her all the food she’d ever want and feed her till she was as fat as a pig. When he held her face his hands shook and when he got onto his knees to hug her she remembered being swallowed in his arms. Kakashi wasn’t an emotional man, and wasn’t easily moved to such reactions. It was the only time she remembered ever seeing him cry in front of her apart from her graduation…but that time didn’t count cause everyone was crying.

“I was so lucky that he was the one who found me that day. I’d do anything for him.”

It was a while before Asura spoke up again, and it was only after he had finished off the last of the thin crust pizza. In the comfortable silence that bloomed between them, he had moved off the couch to sit on the floor next to the dogs and run his fingers through their fur, thinking as he stroked them into slothful bliss. 

“How much do you remember before Kakashi found you?”

“Very little. Not much at all, why?”

He shrugged. “It must have been interesting if you have no memory of it and was left with no voice from it. I’m wondering if it has anything to do with the extra two marks you stated off with. It’s unusual since we all start out with only one at the beginning of the games.”

Sakura opened her mouth to ask him for his own theories when the doorbell rang. Half the dogs set to barking and running for it, half eager half warning. Sakura groaned, pushing away the blankets to stand and head to the door. Asura made to follow her but she waved him back. Here was no need to introduce him to more of the world when it wasn’t yet necessary.

She saw shadows throughout the curtained windows on either side of the door and had a suspicion who it could be before she reached the threshold. When she saw Karin, Naruto, and the boy’s twin brother Menma, she suspected Guy’s handiwork.

Karin stood at the front and sported a duffle bag that hung from her left shoulder. She pushed herself in first and paved the way for her cousins to follow.

“Move it, Funny Face, we’re crashing for the week until they find your dad. We heard about your shifty-ass cousin.”Karin dropped her things in the hallway and popped a hip. “Where you putting us?”

Yup, definitely Guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am 10000% here for magical girl transformations, victory through kindness, and found families/friends like family. Yall, I'm here to treat myself and give this story all my fav things. 
> 
> I got a little delayed in posting this because someone had to borrow my laptop so sorry for the delay.


	6. Gemini

“This is terrible. You’re gonna roll out in the middle of the night and crush me with your man arms. Serious. What are you, twelve years old?”

Sakura hooked one foot behind the other and leaned against the doorjamb, watching Karin fume and vent her displeasures with the sleeping arrangement. Sakura’s twin bed had a pull out trundle that had been great ten years ago for sleepovers, and still did the job fine if called upon.

Karin was just a bit more particular than usual.

“You could just have sent the boys home and taken the guest room, you know,” Sakura suggest, knowing it was wasted words.

Karin was about as convincible as a rock. It was something Sakura admired in the fiery redhead. Back when they were younger and maybe not quite friends, she had always envied Karin for her assurance. No matter what it was, or how crazy the idea, or stupid the thought, Karin was the original ride or die bitch.

Sakura knew this because she was a part of the ride or die train.

“_You_ can take the trundle,” Karin threatened.

“Hey, I don’t move around in my sleep. Everyone I’ve slept with has said as much.”

Karin snorted. “Which is who? Three friends from high school?”

Sakura mentally counted in her head and then pouted. It was _five_ girlfriends and only three of them were from high school."

"Kinky."

"Not like that you perv."

When it looked like Sakura wasn’t going to say anything back Karin let her smirk spread. She dropped her bag onto the pull out mattress with a bounce. There was plenty of room but her shoulder bumped Sakura’s as she passed through the doorway. 

“Relax, Funny Face, it’s only for a few days. They’ll find your old man before long and all of this will be a funny memory no one wants to bring up but does for the sake of humiliating one another. What else were you going to do?”

“I do have a cousin to show around.”

“Yeah,” Karin said, drawing out the word. “Guy told me about that, said he was like a second cousin or a twice removed cousin that you barely know.” Karin’s expression perked up in a way Sakura knew meant trouble. “We’ll help out and show him around. Kiba and the kids are having a Bonfire tomorrow night. You’re going.”

“You wanna let me check to see if I’m even free?” Sakura sighed, watching Karin head for the stairs.

Her voice drifted up even as her head sank out of view. “Nah, doesn’t matter. You need something to help get your mind off this mess. I’m like, a doctor. I know these things.”

Sakura glanced once more at the pulled out trundle with Karin’s things at its end, and then turned back to follow her down the stairs. In the living room Naruto and Menma were sitting on the edge of their seats with their elbows on their knees, heads in the hands, nearly mirroring Asura who leaned forward to animate something with a myriad of hand gestures and body motions. Sakura swallowed her worry and descended the rest of the stairs behind Karin.

“What ‘cha talking about?”Karin clapped Naruto on the shoulder, making him jump.

“Stuff,” Menma elusively explained, glaring at his cousin. “What were _you_ doing?”

“I asked you first.” Karin’s eyes narrowed in warning.

“I already told you,” Menma mocked back.

Karin snapped her wrist like she was about to smack him but clicked her tongue instead, not caring how Naruto was quick to flinch and then cower. Menma grinned, knowing better.

“Have you boys eaten yet?” Sakura asked, smiling at Menma and Naruto.

The blond perked up, blue eyes shining bright. “You have food?”

“Not really, but I could make something or heat up some leftovers if you wanted some.”

“He’s fine,” Karin cut in, flicking Naruto’s ear. “We ate like an hour ago.”

“Yeah, but that was an _hour_ ago.” 

Sakura glanced up over the twin’s heads to where Asura sat, leaning off the edge of his seat. He caught her eye but his facial expressions didn’t change. She thought something else about him would shift if she met his eyes, but he was closely guarded and she understood why. There was only so long he could keep up the vague answers and half truths before it looked bad. She didn’t doubt Menma would smell something off before too long, even if Naruto was as dense as any self declared idiot had the right to be.

Karin pushed in and stuck her hand out right under Asura’s nose and Sakura’s heart sank. “I’m Karin, we haven’t met.”

He didn’t hesitate, but slowly reached to take her hand and shake it, standing up so it wasn’t awkward. “Asura. Sakura’s cousin.”

Karin held onto his hand, no longer shaking. Sakura could see the lines in her hand stand out and knew she was “Not second cousin?”

“The details are too confusing to muddle through. It’s just cousin.” The lines of his hand stood out, showing where his veins ran under the surface of his skin and he smiled. “I mean, most people don’t know the difference anyway. I don’t.”

He dropped his hand when Naruto laughed, “I don’t know the difference either.”

Karin opened her mouth like she wanted to ask more questions but it was Menma who interjected first. “It’s been a long day for the two of you, hasn’t it? Should we let you go?”

Outside the first few shades of black were letting out the stars. It wasn’t the time any of them would normally go to bed, but Sakura was more tired than she had been in a long while, not only because of the cards and the trail, but because she still had a hole in her heart where Kakashi was supposed to be.

With the promise to talk more in the morning, the respective parties parted to go their own way. Karin spent a little longer in the bathroom getting ready while Sakura made up the trundle for her. Downstairs Naruto and Menma could be heard arguing over who would get the couch in the spare room and who would win the bed, because they didn’t share anything anymore. Kakashi’s empty room was where Asura would retire too, but Sakura wasn’t sure how she felt offering it up.

With the lights all off, only half a moon filtered into the bedroom, shedding everything it touched in pale gray. She tired to turn in towards the wall and shut her eyes to the rest of the world, but it wasn’t the same without her dogs.

“Your cat is scratching at the door,” Karin complained as she slipped into the room, hesitating only once she saw Sakura’s turned away posture.

“I don’t have a cat.” Sakura thought it over a moment and then sat up. “Are you sure it was a cat?”

Karin shrugged. “It’s in the hallway. I assumed you took it in. Should I send it away?”

Sakura pushed off her covers and crawled down to the end of the bed before swinging herself off the edge. When she checked in the hallway she couldn’t see what it was that Karin mistook for a cat. She stepped out a little further, hearing one of the dogs, most likely Mop, whine from down below where the gate had been set up to keep them off the stairs.

She was just about to turn back inside when she saw it at the end, under the circle cut window with wide eyes and a flicking tail. There was a moment when fear stilled her, but then she started towards it and the cat got up to meet her halfway. It’s posture wasn’t threatening, and its fur was neatly groomed, but there was no collar. How it got into her house was a myst-

_‘Sakura! It’s me!’_

The thought detail as surprise made her stumble and reach for the railing. She blinked and then knelt down, better able to balance. “Asura!” she hissed in an attempt to whisper. “What the-the- Asura?”

‘_It’s more convenient this way. Try not to say anything out loud, especially my name. I’m able to sink my thoughts directly into you mind so please be quiet and listen. I’ve borrowed this form for a while, but its still me. I might have problems helping you in the future if you are watched, so remember this figure well.’_

“How did you do that?” Sakura reached out and he let her touch his head and then brush her fingers down his back. He started to purr in spite of himself as she pet down his back.

_‘I’m not so…unless…ugh, that I couldn’t-ah- manage something so simple….I can just…just…”_

He seemed too distracted with her pets so she pulled her hand back but he turned quick to bit at her knuckle, a painless thing he regretted the second he realized what he was doing. His ears drooping low he bowed his head and let her go.

“Sorry,” she admitted. 

_‘Me too. I meant to say something else but I’ll not waste words. How are you going to go after the other cards if they insist on watching you?’_

“I think that might have been Guy’s intention from the beginning, to keep me safe.”

_‘I thought he was going to be _helpful_.’_

Sakura couldn’t help but smile. “Kakashi was the same way. I feel it’s a common trait among fathers and uncles. Don’t hold it against them for caring. I’ll do this on my own if it’s what I’ve decided.”

Asura’s tail flicked back and forth behind him. _‘Still we have a problem with the cards. How can you get away for the trials? They’ll notice if you’re gone for too long.’_

“They won’t be on me forever. I’m more concerned with making sure your backstory checks out. What did you tell the twins?”

‘_Only what we previously discussed and I’ll try to keep it that way.” _He pawed the air between them and tilted his head to the side._ “They were pretty easy to shut up when I asked how they knew you. What’s up with that?’_

“You don’t already know?”

‘_Bits a pieces, love, just bits and pieces_.’

Sakura leaned forward and opened her arms to let him climb up the sleeves of her nightshirt. She carried him to the far end of the hall and sat on the ledge under the circle window, making her shadow stretch through filtered moonlight. She bent her head so he could hear better but he pressed his face against hers. It made her itch when his whiskers ticked her nose, but she didn’t push him away.

“I was sorta sheltered when I was much, much younger. Kakashi homeschooled me for a few years or that’s what he called it when he left me home with books and the internet. When he was free he’d take me into the woods and we’d have _lessons_. Do you remember any of that?”

_‘I think I remember an echo of some of your lessons. But the boys…’_

“I wasn’t in their school and it’s a small town. They had wild imaginations. It was a sort of dare to them, to get close enough to steal my hair.”

_Asura shivered in her arms. ‘Doesn’t that involve cutting or…?’_

“Pulling straight from the scalp and running? Yes, yes it does.” She felt his fur bristle. “To their credit, they half believed I wasn’t human. I ran home sobbing and when Kakashi heard about it Guy had to stay with him the whole day to make sure he didn’t sneak out to hunt down the boys. Eventually the adults fostered a meet and greet to make up and I was still scared of them, but they tried really hard to make up for it for a long time.”

_‘What did they do?’_

Sakura wrinkled her nose, remembering the odd gifts they left for her where they thought Kakashi’s wouldn’t see. Sometimes there were pretty rocks with veins of quarts running through them, or picked flowers, or a stray ribbon. Sometimes they were things like flacon feathers, the blue shell of a robin’s egg, or a really neat looking stick. She liked the sticks when they looked carved to fit the shape of a sword or magic wand.

_‘How long was it before you…before Kakashi thought it safe enough to let you out with others?’_

“It was when I was twelve or thirteen and enrolled in high school. That was the limit of his home school/ no school teaching abilities.”

Sakura was almost embarrassed to remember how long she stayed Kakashi’s open secret, trapped by her own fear as well as his. It had taken a lot of support from friends and coworkers to build both them up for a new step in her socialization.

With what she had learned in recent days, she wondered if that had anything to do with his history in the games, the ones that took his friends and left his with nightmares he was so much better at hiding. All her best tricks she learned from him. How had she never realized how broken a man he really was?

Wherever he was, in whatever state he was in, she prayed he wasn’t suffering so terribly.

‘_Sakura_!’

She breathed and it rattled her lungs. When she swallowed she tasted salt. It didn’t hurt to force a smile, but she felt too tired to fake one, even for Asura in the dark where shadows would do half the work.

“I’m fine. Not good, but fine.”

He crawled up her arms and licked at the tears on her face. His whiskers tickled but she just closed her eyes and let him do as he pleased. His thoughts in her head turned hazy, and she felt his words more than heard them. The resonated deep in her heart along side her hear in between her staggering lungs with each fought breath.

_‘You’re safe, you’re safe, I’m with you, I’ll protect you, you’re safe with me, you’re safe….’_

* * *

When she woke up she was in her bed again and there was no sign of cat, but the tears on her face were cracked trails the reminded her of what happened last night in her thoughts. The space in between was a blissful mystery, no doubt thanks to Karin’s proximity. Dogs, friends, Kakashi, as long as there was someone there she seemed to sleep well.

When she turned over in bed the light was bright, filling up the whole of her window like mid morning sun was known to do. From the noises downstairs she knew the rest of the house was awake and restless somewhere near or in the kitchen. Karin’s trundle was empty.

Sakura showered and dressed and then, because she didn’t know what to do next, put her hair into curlers that held the shape while she blowdried and treated her hair like she did when she wanted to look extra nice. But when that was done she didn’t wan’t to leave so she brushed it all out -and then threw up stomach bile.

Hunched over the toilet her stomach turned as pain from her head made her a mess of melting shapes. She felt her body pull apart and crack, fluttering in places and chattering in others. She was a conglomerate of eyes, of black flames and feathers set on fire. Her third eye was open and leaking red into the toilet as she heaved and prayed and choked and prayed some more that it just all end and be done with.

‘‘_It’s a long story, but if you start it, you can’t be the same person again_.’

Sakura screamed but there was no air in her lungs. She heard the warning from before and pushed against it with all her will because even though she could barely think straight-she wouldn’t regret it-because _Kakashi needed her_-because she had felt worse-because _she was going to rescue her family_-because she deserved it-_because she owed him everything_-because she didn’t deserve his-!

It was something dizzying but there was the sound of something ripping and then she saw it, something new pushing itself into her brain from outside.

A man was late, running through the halls in his three piece suit the electric lights made his slicked back hair gleam as he stopped under one candelabra. He threw the cloak over his head and tugged it down before pulling on a handle. The door in the wall rolled back and he descended into the darkness, each step memorized.

On the back of his cloak was a symbol she had seen before, but couldn’t say from where.

At the bottom the floor turned into cut stone and it was a chamber lightly lit with dripping candles and mirrors. The other members were already there, annoyed with his lateness, some were even tense.

“Then we’re assembled,” one woman said in a voice deep and sultry.

“If it’s your turn then don’t be late,” said another, this time male sounding.

“Hey! This place is in the middle of nowhere, don’t be mad at me from having to come from the rest of fucking civilization to ‘dis Gawd forsaken armpit,” the late man grumbled.

A few figures shifted, looking to the man at the front who’s hands were resting on the shoulders of a small boy. Said boy watched on patiently in a bowtie and dress shorts. A smattering of freckles stretched across his face and stood out on his arms like dots of gold and silver. In his hands he held a toy solider made out of tin.

“Are you prepared?” the man rasped in a voice that left little room for anyone else.

The tardy man straightened and coughed before bowing. He extended his hand at at the end, pinched between his fingers, was a card trimmed in reflective obsidian. “Of course.”

The boy was pushed into the middle and each member took their turn anointing his head with a different oil he didn’t so much as flinch from.

“We offer you a gift, son.”

“We offer you your destiny.”

“We offer you the world.”

“We offer you the reigns of fate.”

“We offer you shackles broken by knowledge.”

“We offer you the might to move kingdoms!”

In one voice they spoke together.“Cast off your fetters and arm yourself with the power to revolutionize the world.”

Then the light faded and everyone was still there, but the boy was groaning in discomfort as a set of freckles burned black and glittering on his neck, each mark darkling like a cut of star choked night sky. He screamed and the dream shattered.

* * *

Sakura vomited once more and then sagged sideways, feeling more spent than ever as her third eye dried up and sank back behind the folds until any evidence of her forehead being anything extraordinary was gone. 

“Oi, don’t you dar go up those stairs!” Karin’s muffled voice warned form somewhere on the other side of the door.

One of the boys, most likely Naruto, whined something she couldn’t make out and it was enough to remind her that there were others who didn’t know she would have to face.

Sakura pulled herself up and limped over to the mirror, checking for the trails of still wet blood that wiped off easy. Her cheeks were pale, but she pinched them enough for color and then brushed out the bile in time to hear pounding up the stairs and Karin screeching after Naruto.

She swung the door open just in time to see him running past, heading straight for her bedroom. She reached and caught him by the back of his shirt and he stumbled like someone snagged on a clothesline, screaming as he fell onto his back.

“Sa-Sakura!” he flailed a bit then scrambled to his feet. ”You’re fine!”

“I’m tired and groggy and you’re loud, how is any of that fine?”

Behind her Karin charged up the stairs, followed by Ginger the golden who was most found of Naruto and never passed up the opportunity to lick someone when they were down. The redhead stoped behind Sakura and crossed her arms, content to watch her cousin get licked to death in the face.

“You feeling okay?” she asked in a softer voice that wasn’t meant to be overheard.

Sakura tapped the side of her nose and smiled a crooked smile. “I’m hanging in there, don’t worry. I’ll be better with some food.”

“That,” Karin sighed, “is something we can help with.”

Downstairs in the living room Asura and Menma were hooked up to the Nintendo Switch and playing Mario Kart. Asura looked up when he heard them on the stairs but Menma was too focused on catching up to turn around.

Karin made eggs and Sakura buttered toast paired with apricot jam. In the pan next to the eggs Karin heated up leftover sausage. Not caring to be especially crafty about it, Sakura snuck in some ham to help flavor the eggs along with more shredded cheese.

Naruto tried to help, but he was useless when it came to cooking or baking so he just set the table and poured drinks for everyone.

The smell of cooking meat roused Menma from the couch and Asura was close behind. Sakura sat on the edge of the counter with her plate in hand, Naruto close to her knee while the others took seats at the table barely big enough for two.

“Are you coming with us tonight? We can all squeeze in my jeep,” Naruto offered.

“In what fresh hell would five people do that?” Karin scoffed, turning up her nose.

Naruto grinned wide and stared up at Sakura, tilting his head back to see her. “You can fit on my lap.”

Sakura flicked some of her eggs at his face. “While you drive? No thanks, I want to live.

“I’ll be showing up a little later,” Menma admitted. “I had some plans with dad to sort out before then. I don’t know when I’ll be free.”

“Working as a lacky to the mayor sounds like _so much fun_,” Sakura teased, smile easy as she watched Menma’s gruffness soften just a touch for her. “We’ll save you a spot, don’t worry.”

Karin groaned from her spot at the table, looking at something outside. “It looks like you have company. Naruto, did you hide the weed?”

"We have weed! Where?"

"Dumbass," Menma sighed.

Sakura turned and saw the colors of Yamato’s cruiser. She frowned when she saw who else came with him.

Naruto was patting down his pockets before he realized he was clean and then glared at Karin for her teasing. Sakura ruffled his hair and then shoveled the rest of her eggs into her mouth before leaving the plate on the counter. She heart Naruto pick it up and put it in the sink under the running water.

She was at the door before Shisui could knock, glaring at his face when it split into a wide grin. Before he could open his mouth Yamato hit him upside his head. Shisui stumbled, turning around to glare where his superior stood.

“Morning,” Sakura sighed. 

“How are you doing, Sakura?” Yamato asked. He glanced past her shoulder to where the others in the house mingled. He saw something that made the skin around his eyes tighten. “Shisui, go and check in on the others, I need to speak with Sakura out here on the porch for a second.”

“I thought you said I could do that-ah, fine, fine I got it!” he snapped when Yamato pulled his dreaded ghoul face of disappointment. It freaked out all the others in the office, even Kakashi. It was effective in sending Shisui skittering.

“Has Guy-”?

“Yeah,” Yamato answered quickly. He bent towards her and lowered his voice. “He filled me in and I know, I knew about Kakashi when we were both in the games.”

Sakura felt herself flinch. She had forgotten Yamato was older than he appeared. He was only a few years shy of Kakashi and it was wholly possible he was involved with the last round. She glanced to what she could see of his skin and he chuckled.

“Don’t look to hard, I’m pretty covered up. But I should just let you know now that everyone at the station is involved in some way, apart from Shisui, most of us are veterans or family to one. Iruka knows but it was his older brother who lost in the games. He’s understandably upset about how this is all starting over again. It’s too early.”

“Guy said something like that too.”

“I wanted to let you know that we have a cover story for Kakashi’s disappearance but it won’t hold water for longer than a couple of weeks. When that happens we’ll all be there for you.”

Sakura felt sick at the idea of having to spend so many days apart from Kakashi, not knowing if he was in pain or danger wherever he was.

“Thanks,” she weakly answered.

“We’re tracking down those with marks. Checking in on them. We know of nine others apart from you who were born with new marks, but only six have been accounted for.”

The news stunned her but she recovered quickly, fear rising up in her throat as she considered the possibility of others existing who might keep her from saving Kakashi. “What does that mean?”

Yamato waved his hand. “I don’t think any of them are aware of the games yet, not like you. Most of their marks are still dull, _inactive_.”

She brushed a finger over the single freckle, once so dull it was never noticed, just above her brows on her forehead. It was different now, but so well hidden she didn’t know how they could tell. Asura’s marks were bright and eye catching but easier to cover under clothes.

“What does that mean?”

“It means we’re going to keep a close eye and interfere when we can to prevent them from accelerating these games any more. If they don’t wake up their marks they don’t count as duelists. So far, Naruto doesn’t have a clue.”

It was one too many revelations for her. Sakura whipped her head around, eyes wide to see Naruto flinching from Karin’s hand as he ate straight out of the Lucky Charms cereal box, picking for the marshmallows.

Heart of gold Naruto? ‘My favorite vegetable is cheese’ Naruto? Her lovable idiot childhood friend?

It made sense for a kid pulled out of the river with no memories or relations to be caught up in something so insane, but not _Naruto_. His dad was mayor, his major was in construction. He was a dumbass that everyone loved. 

“You’re wrong,” Sakura breathed, looking back at Yamato.

“He has the mark of the **Gemini** on his stomach. It’s still dull but…his dad knew what it was as soon as he was born. Ah, but it’s just him, not Menma.”

“The mayor knows too?”

Yamato nodded. “He would. He was the winner from the last games.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bam, there you go, two reveals at the end and a little mystery there in the middle.


	7. Stag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Smart men are not good men and I am tired of being an evil thing used by brilliant minds.”

The evening came so much faster than Sakura could brace for. She was reeling from what she saw in her visions, from what Yamato told her, and all the terrible thoughts that swelled in her brain without a foundation to build on. She was afraid for Kakashi, she was afraid for Naruto, and she was worried about what this meant for her.

“The games are more complex than I could have anticipated,” she whispered to Asura as he fidgeted in her doorway. She had heard Karin yell at him to go find Sakura and bring her out because they were all ready to leave.

“Do you want to stay home?” he asked her softly. “They’ll understand.”

Sakura stared down at the card with Kakashi and his dogs. His mark wasn’t hers so she couldn’t hide the card in her body like she could with Asura’s or the one for her third eye.

She turned it over and slid it deep into the pocket of her jeans_. _Kakashi’s card was a warmth resting low on her thigh through the denim. Next to his card was another she wanted to try capturing with Asura’s help once they were alone. Maybe after the bonfire, or maybe after the booze?

“They’ll worry,” Sakura correct. She pulled on her jacket and popped the hood. “But that’s fine.”

“You sure?”

He caught her in the doorway before she could pass him by. “I’m sure,” she said. “It gets easier to deal with when I just worry about Kakashi. Nothing….nothing else matters just yet. I shouldn’t have to worry about what Yamato told me.”

“I don’t think you’d have to worry about him even if that Naruto kid did join the game,” Asura scoffed.

Sakura felt cold. “Not true. If I had to lose Naruto too…” She huffed and turned away. “I’m not going to lose _any_ of them. We’ll end this before that happens.”

He let her go down the stairs ahead of him before he took them two at a time to catch up. Karin was fixing Naruto’s hair, complaining about the curls before he ducked free and out of reach. Sakura and Asura slipped into the backseat while Karin claimed shotgun.

They stopped at the grocery store to pop in for food to bring, but otherwise made a straight shot for Kiba’s place on another edge of the ever encroaching forest.The Inuzuka property was easily one of Sakura’s favorite if she had to be stuck somewhere for a party. It was right on the edge of the wild, was plenty big, and most importantly….

“Puppies!”

Sakura squealed the second she saw the dogs running out to greet her. She jumped free first and knelt on her knees with her arms open, accepting each of the excited hounds that hadn’t been puppies in years. Each one climbed over the other to get to her, sniffing wildly at her for the scents of her own dogs left behind.

Naruto laughed, joining her on the ground so that the dogs had better access to his face.

“Don’t you get tired of it?” Karin asked. “You have your own dogs that do the same thing.”

“I’ll always appreciate it,” Sakura admitted before standing.

Asura came up behind her with the plastic bag of chips and cookies, watching the dogs critically. None of them tried to sniff at him or even acknowledge his presence, but he seemed okay with that.

“Where’s Kiba?” Karin huffed. “He should be out here greeting us. It’s nearly dark and there’s no one else here.”

Sakura glanced back and recognized a couple other cars, one belonging to Choji, and the other was too sleek and pretty to belong to anyone other than Ino. She knew Karin recognized it too, but the pair hadn’t been on friendly terms in a while, aside from the occasional tryst that broke up the worst of their animosities.

“We can let ourselves in,” Naruto cheered.

He stood and opened the gate to the back yard, following the flagstone back to the enormous patio that seemed to go on and on. Just where it ended in gravel and black sand, a fire pit the size of Naruto’s jeep was prepped and ready to go with kindling. Kiba and Shikamaru were standing around it and across from them on the log bench Choji was eating from a bag of his own snacks.Shino stood at the tree-line with some sort of bug-catcher.

The dogs barked and Kiba screamed at them loudly to stay away from the pit, but didn’t move to stop them. He noticed them a second later and a grin too much like Naruto’s spread across his face.

“Oi, you made it! You brought snacks?” He walked over to slap Naruto in greeting before eyeing Asura. “Hey man, welcome. Heard you’re Sakura’s family. I’m Kiba.”

Asura shifted the bags to shake Kiba’s offered hand, echoing his own name before asking if there was a place he wanted the snacks.

Kiba cheered and waved to a table, lading Asura over there to help set out the chips and cookies alongside the drinks and finger-foods. Karin didn’t stray far, but called out to Choji and the two began a conversation. Sakura saw Shikamaru raised a mostly empty red solo cup in her direction and let herself smile.

“I didn’t know if you would be here, isn’t this sort of thing too troublesome?” Sakura teased, sliding up alongside him.

“It is, but Choji dragged me here. I didn’t think I’d see you over the break though.”

Sakura shrugged, knowing it wouldn’t be long before things go out to everyone that Kakashi was missing. Yamato said they had a cover story for him, but it was a small town, less than 10,000 people with the collage, and nothing stayed secret for long.

“Something came up, we couldn’t go away. Sucks being important.”

Shikamaru finished his drink and Sakura could smell the tang of hard lemonade on his breath. “It’s a trap, don’t fall for it. Stay mediocre forever.”

“I can only agree with you there. But yeah, how is your break so far? Any more plans to get out with others like this?”

Kiba came back into the clearing with Naruto and Asura in tow. Naruto helped soak the wood with lighter fluid while Kiba tossed in the first match. The wood went up in a _woosh_ and everyone cheered and clapped at the sight of it. Hana, Kiba’s older sister, came out with Ino and the two of them were rolling a cooler between them with soda and chilled beer.

“Sakura,” Ino cooed, reaching to drag one of her oldest friends into a hug. “I heard you were going to make it. I’m so glad. If you’re free this week make plans with me!”

Shikamaru sighed, excusing himself to get more alcohol.

Ino’s eyes then lit up at the sight of Asura. “Oh gosh, it’s like Naruto said. You do have company. Menma warned me he was a looker.”

Sakura almost choked. “Menma did!?”

Ino winked. “Poor boy owes me too many favors not to rat you out, don’t take it personally girl. It should be okay if he’s single right?”

“You know his name at least?” Sakura asked.

She suddenly felt uncomfortable even though it wasn’t atypical Ino behavior. She lived for the conquest of anything new on two legs it seemed. Sakura had never minded or cared, even back in high school when she was the object of Ino’s stalking.

Ino winked. “I’ll pump some breaks, don’t worry.” Ino’s easy smile fell off her face and the flirty tilt of her head straightened. She leaned into Sakura’s personal space and then grabbed for a section of hair. “Hey, are you okay. You have bags and you’re paler than should be in this light.”

“I’m fine,” Sakura forced herself to laugh. “I’ve been staying up because I have nothing better to do than play video games at 3AM.”

Ino eased another small smile onto her lips. “If you say so.” She pulled out a phone from inside her shirt where it had been wedged between bra strap and breast. “Hey, guess who else is coming tonight? I just got an update from the dojo kids!” 

“_Noooo_,” Kiba whined loudly. “Neji is a kill joy. He kept track of how many drinks everyone had at the last one and kept giving us updates.”

“Because he cared about you getting home safe,” Ino huffed. “Plus, Tenten will keep him in check this time. Don’t be a bad host.”

Kiba flipped her the bird and then threw a shredded piece of bark into the fire.

Sakura mingled with her friends, talking with everyone at some point, even the kids from Guy’s dojo, who were all from the Chinese side of town and grew up going to a different high school before filtering into the same collage everyone fell into. She had known Lee from Guy, way before college, but Neji and Tenten still felt distant.

An hour and two drinking games later, Menma still hadn’t arrived, but the bonfire was as big as ever and easily visible from the main road. It was around that time that Sakura started to feel a pull from her head into the woods.

Asura touched her elbow. “You feel that too?” he asked, bending down to whisper in her ear.

“What is it?”

The third eye was throbbing, unseen and sealed as it was, she could feel it like a weight against her brain. The hairs on her arm stood up under her jacket.

“There’s an enforcer in the woods, which is stimulating the sense of anxiety, but that pull is another card.”

The enforcers were monsters that roamed wild between the trees, seeking to encourage duelists into dueling. They were the things that spurred the games on when players got lazy. Sakura remembered the smell and sight of the creature under Kakashi’s tarp. She had no desire to see another, much less abreathing one.

Asura must have noticed her unnatural stillness since he rubbed a hand over her elbow. “They won’t hurt you if you play the game, and that’s what you want to do, right? Don’t worry. Even if they tried, I wouldn’t let them.”

“What happens if I ignore that card in the woods?” she whispered, glancing away from the bonfire into the darkness.

“Then eventually Anko or some other duelist with awareness will find it and add it to their collection,” he answered.

She tugged her elbow free and then turned enough to grab his wrist. “Then we had better hurry,” Sakura whispered with a stray glance over her shoulder for the people she would be leaving behind. No one seemed to notice her.

Asura was perfectly adept as blending into the shadows and some of his luck must have rubbed off on her because they made it past the tree line without anyone noticing. It wouldn’t be long before someone noticed her missing, but it would be long enough before someone thought to look for her.

How long had it taken to win over the Leo card?

Movement far off to the right where the trees were closest together made her stiffen, but Asura pulled her along when her steps faltered. There was something running parallel with the through the trees and her body taught her fear with all its reactions.

“Don’t mind it, love,” Asura said, tugging her closer. “We’re almost there.”

The cards in her pocket warmed. Beside Kakashi was another card she had looked into and seen a glittering black swan on a silver lake under the moon. The swan sparkled with starlight trapped in its wings. Whatever was loose in the wild was another card, just like the one in her pocket she still needed to subdue.

‘The **Cygnus** card feels like a battle card, like I’d need to fight it. Let’s wait until we can get away for this one,’ Asura had said the first night back.

“Can you tell if there are any other duelists in the woods or near here?” Sakura asked, still cold with fear as the enforcer monster loomed closer. The card they followed seemed to only be getting further and further away from them the deeper they went.

“None that are active. That Naruto kid isn’t a part of the games yet so you can’t tell. You’re a beacon though.” He stopped when he felt her hand tug him back. “What is it?”

Sakura pulled out the Swan card. “I think I need to win this one over now before the enforcer in the wood tears into me,” she explained in a voice that was barely even.

His eyes narrowed in concern. “It might be too much for you to win one card right after another. Two cards back to back?”

“Can _you_ do it?” she asked, bending her head as the beast between the trees stalked closer. 

Asura inhaled and he seemed to grow as he straightened. A crooked grin turned his lips up. “Of course, I can do anything. Retrieve the card.”

Sakura pulled forth the card and closed her eyes. She felt the world around her, the magic, the pull, the beast in the woods, all of it. She pushed her presence into the card and an image bleed into the white space of a black swan strewn with stars, wings lifted as it descended on a silver lake under the moon.

Sakura felt the world around her shift. The enforcer was gone, along with the trees. When she opened her eyes again they were in the marsh of a different world, under a swollen moon low in the sky. Everything was colored in shades of silver, including the toothed mouth of the diving swan.

“Swans don’t have teeth!” Sakura screamed, rolling into the dirt and grass just out of the bird’s reach.

“They’re also not draped in stars!”

Asura laughed, swinging his sword as a uniform glittered over his body, donning him in silver.It wasn’t European styled, but more in line with what she would see in an old Samurai film, which was odd because his sword wasn’t in the Japanese style. Not exactly.

“What do I do this time?” Sakura yelled as the swan banked, coming around for another dive.

“Prepare the dipping sauce because tonight we feast on bird,” Asura bellowed before charging with his sword raised behind him.

The swan twisted just out of range and beat its wings against his back, climbing into the air again. Asura turned and launched his sword like a spear, but missed when the Swan caught a draft upwards. He held his empty hand and before the sword could hit the ground it dissolved into starlight then reappeared in his hand.

Sakura ducked low in the grass, searching for something else, because nothing felt right. The fight was teases and tricks. She doubted the fight was all there was to the card’s challenge. This card felt like Leo’s, but she doubted courage was what she needed now. There was something more than just brute strength needed.

Sakura noticed how the swan climbed high, watching the whole of the field before diving again with monstrous teeth and webbed claws, larger and fiercer than any swan had the right to be. 

Not knowing what else to do, Sakura closed her eyes ducked down into the grasses. Once she felt like everything was calm and dark she pushed open her third eye. It was a rush and suddenly the whole of the world inside the card came into view, even though she was deep in the grasses. She saw the lake, the bank with nests, the endless marsh….

Sakura snapped out of her dizzying trance, third eye snapping shut. With the swan climbing to dive once more she crouched and moved as much as she dared before the bird began to descend. Once she was sure its focus was on Asura she set off running.The closer to the edge the muddier and harder it was to run, but she didn’t fall as she made her way to the nest.

She heard an ungodly screech that shouldn’t have belonged to a swan. Asura roared and threw his sword again, knocking the bird off course and allowing Sakura to make it the rest of the way to the nest with a single silver egg, speckled with gold constellations.

She fell on it, feeling the wind at her back just as her fingers closed around the shell.

The swan flew over her, melting into light that left behind a scattering of freckles burning on her thigh under her jeans. The world melted just as Asura reached her, cheering into her neck as he spun her.

“How did you know?” he asked her.

But Sakura couldn’t celebrate. She grabbed his shoulders and stopped his spinning, digging her toes into the mulch to steady him. She stared at something just beyond his shoulder. When he turned they both stared together at the spectral stag with a card floating above his ever sprawling antlers.

Between two trees it stood, taller than any horse and built more like a moose, stepped forward. It's antlers were wild and spiraling up, up, up behind its head with too many points to count. Moss dripped along with pale white begonias and purple irises blossoms from its antlers, obscuring its eyes. When it turned towards here the moss slipped to the side and the beam of blue from its eyes froze her in place.

“So soon?” she gasped, still dizzy from using her third eye.

“It’s fine, the **Stag** is a clever card, not a battle card, I remember that much. Deer are peace keepers.” He kissed the side of her face. “You’ll do fine and I’ll not leave you.”

She could feel the enforcer somewhere in the woods but it was much further off, no longer stalking her.

It stepped even further into the clearing and she could see more of its body, how it glowed like colored glass lit from somewhere deep inside. There were marks in its fur, spots and discolorations, but they also glowed bright and beautiful. Between its antlers a light twinkled in and out, glowing bright and then brighter still as it bent towards her and Asura. Sakura watched the light, transfixed until she saw it unfold into something else.

The Stag watched her with moss and nightshade sliding down around its eyes, still as bright and clear as headlights. She almost had to wince and avert her eyes as she approached it, but when she was near, it lowered his head and bent his antlers towards her.

“I think I need a minute,” she whispered.

“You can do it, I’ll be here.”

He touched the small of her back and she felt steadied by his touch. Having him close was enough. Rallied, Sakura reached between the prongs for the card made out of light. Her hand passed into the space over its head between his curling antlers and her fingers collided with something cold.

The world went white and then she was alone. When she could open her eyes again she saw trees, thicker and taller than she was used to. The world smelled like damp soil.

A beam of light cutting across the night drew her eyes and she turned to see the stag bounding away from her, in between the trees. Asura wasn’t there, but she could feel the heat from her freckles and that was enough. She could summon him with a word if that’s what it took.

Sakura bound after the Stag, following its glow through the trees until the world spilled out into a lake it leapt over in a single, impossible bound. When it landed it came down on a small island where it turned around to face her, watching with eyes like high-beams.

“Easy enough,” Sakura murmured.

But when she stepped into the water it burned and her toes came out tingling. She wasn’t wearing shoes anymore, and her regular clothes were gone, replaced with a simple blue night dress drawn with a ribbon at the waist. It felt familiar but was too old fashioned for anything in her closet.

There was a ripple in the water and when she looked up there were stones emerging, some ash white, others dull gray. She saw that some were etched in writing while others were polished clean.

‘A clever card,’ Asura had warned her. The Stag would test her intellect.

There was only one stone she could jump to and reach so it would stand to reason that was the stone she needed to start with.

When she landed the stone under her quivered but held fast. She almost fell off, but threw her shoulders back, staring up at the sky full of stars while her hands reached through the air for something to pull herself upright with, but it was her own failings that kept her from falling. When she straightened a fog had settled over the lake, obscuring the shore behind her.

No going back.

“Oh, you approach?”

The Stag spoke with the voice of a grandfather, soft, slow and a bit patronizing.

Sakura made a wide sweep with her arms and mockingly curtsied. “If it’s all the same with you, I’d like to win your card. You going to try and bite my face off?”

“I should think not,” the Stag replied. “Reach me and my aid is yours.”

“That’s it,” Sakura asked, knowing in her gut such a straightforward task wouldn’t be as easy as she hoped.

“If you can.”

Sakura almost toppled when her stone started to spin, rotating slowly at first and then faster and faster as the fog swirled in, thick enough to drown her and hide her own hands from her face. Sakura went low and held onto the edge of her stone, grasping for dear life until suddenly it stopped. When she looked up all she could see was fog and sky. The stars winked down at her.

“Find me.” The Stag’s voice was everywhere and nowhere, echoing like its own ghost. “Jump and reach me if you know the way.”

It was impossible to see and impossible to know after being so turned around.

Sakura touched the freckles on her chest and then looked up at the sky overhead.

Not impossible.

Sakura turned to her left and jumped through the fog. She saw the stone just in time to adjust her landing and avoid the water while around her the fog burned away.

“You used the starts to show you the way. Inventive.”

Sakura glared at the Stag, more determined than before. There were three large slabs of crumbling ruins for her to leap onto, one dripping in Spanish Moss, one in yellow flowers, the last in Ivy. Sakura jumped for the moss one and watched the other two fall away. moss was the headpiece of the Stag after all, it wasn’t too difficult to guess.

More stones made her think, answer riddles, solve small puzzles, or recite long nonsensical phrases after hearing them just once. She made it through by the skin of her teeth a few times, but each answered question drew her closer to the island with the Stag until there were just three more platforms in her way.

She landed on the first of three and heard the voice again. “What is your name?”

No other challenge presented itself.

“Sakura,” she answered truthfully. Her stone drifted close enough for her to jump and land on the next one.

“What do you desire in this game and why do you play it?”

Sakura steadied herself on the rock before answering. “I just want to get Kakashi back, he was taken into one of the cards and he’s…he’s my family. I just want him home.”

The Stag stood silent, watching her with his high-beam eyes until her platform seeped new stone and grew into a path that led her to the last stone.

“And what, Sakura, would you do with your wish if you were to win?”

“My wish?”

“All victors are granted a wish. It is the prize that draws such energetic competitors. What would your wish be?”

Sakura remembered hearing the details from Guy and then from Asura about how the game worked, but she couldn’t remember caring about them. She didn’t need to win to save Kakashi. She could pull him out of the card like she did with Asura and then…then they could sever his connection somehow.

The thought of Kakashi’s empty chair at home made her heart ache once more. Without him she was left alone in an empty home. Sure she had her dogs, but who would remind her to grab her keys or harass her about getting a license? Who would watch The Twilight Zone reruns with her at night? Who would understand her half as well as Kakashi?

“I just want my family. I want my loved ones to be safe. I don’t care about the rest,” Sakura answered honestly. “Maybe I should, but I just want Kakashi home and my friends all safe.”

For a heartbeat nothing happened, then the water turned utterly still and begonias in shades of white and pink blossomed across the lake surface, matching the ones dripping from its antlers. The stag stepped towards her, close enough to touch. There was nothing left separating her from it.

“Could you tell if I lied?” Sakura asked, already suspecting the answer.

“Yes, I saw truth but wished to hear your own words,” it answered her.

The Stag was close enough to reach if only she lifted her hand to touch it, but something nagged her in the back of her brain and she knew she wouldn’t find peace until she addressed it.

“Why did you ask me those questions? They weren’t puzzles, they didn’t test my knowledge or wisdom. You just…wanted to know my name and what I wanted. What if I said I wanted the power to kill someone? Would I have passed?”

“Perhaps… Perhaps not.” The answer was vague at best and Sakura didn’t buy it.

“You cared what my answers were. Why?”

It bent his head and pressed the card closer to her, urging her to take it, but Sakura didn’t move her hands.

“Why?” she asked again, repeating her words.

It lifted its head just enough to see her with one eye, and she thought it might be annoyed with her questions, but if he was a creature that valued knowledge it shouldn’t. Nothing worthy was ever gained without admitting ignorance.

“Why did you care?” she asked.

When it answered the voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once before it thrust its head at her, forcing her hand into the card and ending the world.

“Smart men are not good men and I am tired of being an evil thing used by brilliant minds.”

Sakura fell into the light and woke up gasping, a new burning low on her stomach. She pawed at her shirt, recognizing the flannel from her closet, and lifted it enough to see the new freckles in a constellation set for the Stag.

But that wasn’t what made her freeze.

“Sakura?”

Behind her Asura reached for her, finally able to materialize again.

“Sakura! You did it, you came back and you did it. Wh-what’s wrong?”

Sakura turned around and pulled up her shirt enough for him to see. He didn’t look to the smattering of new freckles, but stared hotly at the corroded fang marks that had festered overnight. There was no pain, explaining how she hadn’t noticed them, but when she looked she saw the place where Anko’s snake bite had worked its evil.

“I don’t feel it.” She felt her heartbeat flutter with new fear. “When did this happen? When she-when I fought with her yesterday?”

Asura knelt in front of her and grabbed at her hip, running stray thumbs over the skin marred by the discolored areas. It was like an awful bruise, but at the center there was a pair of slit bite marks. Asura’s fingers made her shiver and pull away. He let her.

“The curse of the **Hydra** card. It could take several days for her venoms to bear fruit,” he admitted. “You-we’ll have to treat it. A doctor-”

“It was a magic snake that came out of her arm, they’re not going to know what to do! Guy might but-but this is a part of the game isn’t it? People die. People are murdered.” She touched the area through her shirt, feeling nothing. “We need to get back to Guy. He’ll know. Maybe there is a card with healing as a power.”

She was almost distracted enough to miss the way he flinched.

Almost.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something but the flashing lights of red and blue made her words die. Even from so deep in the woods she could hear the sirens and see the lights coming down the trail towards Kiba’s house. There was more than one squad car headed that way.

She cursed and took off running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we are getting into the thick of the game. Sakura has two new cards and before the games climax she'll have even more. Personally, I'm really excited for when she gets to use the Cygnus (Swan) card as it's likely one of my favorites and you'll see why later on.
> 
> These chapters are from my nano writing challenge last year, so everything from chapter 7- 22 was written in 30 days. I was cranking them out, but it took twice as long to go back and fix inconsistencies and hammer out the flow. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback. I am still answering comments so know I'm a bit behind and trying to get to them all. Ya'll are wonderful.


	8. Cygnus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Indra makes his appearance

She stumbled and staggered maybe once during the whole run back, but her efforts still weren’t enough to make it there before the cruisers had pulled up. The lights were on inside the house and Sakura could see figures making their way through Kiba’s home before his back door opened and a number of figures spilled out, all of whom she recognized.

At the head was Naruto’s father and the town’s mayor, Minato Uzamaki with his son Menma trailing hot on his heels. Further back there was Guy, Asuma, Yamato, and Shisui. No one looked happy, but Minato looked murderous.

Sakura skidded to a halt against a tree right on the edge of the clearing, catching herself as her lungs burned for new air. She wasn’t hidden, but no one would see her unless they looked for her.

“Naruto,” Minato barked, sterner than Sakura was used to hearing him. “We’re leaving. Go with your brother and Karin.” 

“That the hell, man?” Hana barked, charging up to Minato from where she had been drinking with Ino. She tossed the excess booze from her red Solo cup into the fire for dramatics, making it flare up behind her. “What right do you have to be here? This is private property.”

“I’m collecting my son, _Dr_. _Inuzuka_,” Minato clipped. His voice sounded like he doubted her doctorate and didn’t want to admit it.“I have every right.”

“Dad,” Naruto weakly called, trying to chuckle as his face burned bright red from something other than the fire’s heat. “It’s not a curfew night. You said I-”Naruto cut off his own words when he saw how public his protest was, ducking his head into his shoulders and walking over to his father.

“Fine,” Hana growled, turning the full force of her glare to the figures behind their mayor. “What’s with the possy? We’re not under any suspicion and you’ve no probable cause to validate your trespass. No one here is underage.”

Kiba snickered behind his sister and she smack hip without looking.

“It’s not trespassing,” Guy said, stepping forward to take Mineto’s place. “It’s for your safety. There were some brown bear sightings close to here. Someone found a stray dog mauled to death. This is just precaution. Your property is on the edges, after all.”

“No on is going into the woods,” Hana scoffed. “You’ll need a better excuse than that. Get off. I know my rights.”

“Wait!” Naruto’s cry interrupted Hana’s ranting. “I came with Sakura too. I need to let her know we’re leaving.”

Sakura saw Naruto turn around but Minato was faster, grabbing his son by the wrist and jerking him back. “She’ll be fine. Go where your cousin is waiting.”

“But she needs a ride home I should-”

Minto tugged Naruto closer. “_Car_. _Now_,” he hissed, eyes flashing in warning.

From where she watched Sakura felt cold fear in her bones because Minato was a good father, kind and sweet and a little silly. His kids constantly teased him for being a goof and a pushover when it came to his wife, but that’s not what Sakura saw when she watched from the trees. Minato looked like a different person.

_ He was the winner from the last games._

Naruto was marked as a duelist, and so was she. It wasn’t a stretch to assume Minato knew the rest. There wasn’t really a bear, but there were plenty of enforcers and monsters from cards that would serve no one any good unless they were already involved in the games.

“Guy?” Sakura breathed, feeling suddenly betrayed as she looked up to where the officer stood, still trying to make peace with Tsume’s daughter.

His work was cut out for him. Kiba and Hana’s mother Tsume Inuzuka had crossed America to march in half a dozen highlighted protests throughout history and that activist mindset was strong in her only daughter. Hana didn’t look ready to back down.

Ino came up behind Hana and said something before heading into the house. Hana threw up her hands in mock surrender and stepped aside to let Guy pass with Yamato close at his heels.

Since she had slipped into the woods Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, and Tenten, all members of Guy’s dojo, had showed up. Rock Lee approached his Sifu but Guy waved him off. Across the way he looked up and saw her among the trees and she felt rooted in place. His face was unreadable.

“Sakura,” he called almost too soft to hear as he approached her. Nearby Shikamaru turned enough to notice Sakura behind him and watched as Guy reached her.

“What are you doing here?” Sakura asked, looking to where Minato had once stood. The mayor hadn’t seen her, but she had felt the acidity in his voice when he she had been mentioned. “Kakashi would-”

“Some things have changed,” Guy interrupted. “Sakura, did you win over the Leo card?”

Sakura took a half step back as Guy showed off his bare forearm where once a scattering of dull freckles in the shape of a lion once were. Now they were gone.

“You noticed.”

“Sakura,” Guy hissed, sounding worried. “You’re not ready. You don’t know enough to be going after the cards. Please, listen and-”

“No.”

Both Sakura and Asura turned and looked up at where Asura loomed. His expression was hard in the dull light.

“Don’t encourage her past her limits. You may not care what happens to her or what it costs but I’ve played these games before. It’s no simple matter, acquiring new marks. Sakura, you could loose your life if you’re not careful. Please tell me you at least summoned the other Chalice card.”

Asura’s sharp intake of breath wasn’t something she could have missed if she wanted to. She touched her chest and felt the magic or electricity that crackled from Asura’s mark, but there was an identical mark mirror under her collar bone; The same card from two different decks, one gold one glass.

“You think I’m not keeping her safe?” Asura snapped. His voice was an ocean of emotions.

Guy sighed, sounding too much like Kakashi in that moment.

Sakura reached back and felt Asura’s hand, balled into a white knuckled fist. It relaxed only at her touch, but when she held his hand it was still tense.

“Guy,” she said, knowing they were attracting too many eyes standing out in the open. “Will you take us home? We can talk later and I-I don’t have a way to get back without Karin or Naruto.”

“Of course,” he answered, sounding a bit more like himself. “It’s the pleasure of a police officer to help those in need. I’m sure your tired after such a fun day.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it fun,” she murmured, rubbing the spot above her hip where Anko’s snake had bit her. When she glanced up Shikamaru was still watching her out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t look away when she caught him staring. Asuma had moved away from talking with Shino and called out to Guy.

“We’ll have passengers tonight. You ready to leave?” Guy asked his partner.

“I think I might get a ride with Shikamaru here,” Asuma chuckled, stopping beside the boy and laying a heavy hand on his shoulder. Shikamaru didn’t flinch but seemed to deflate from the attention. “Kid and I have a _ton_ to catch up on.”

“I’m not driving you home, old man.”

Asuma grabbed Shikamaru’s cup out of his hands. “You’re not driving anyone home tonight, not with what you’ve been drinking.” He took a sniff and handed the cup back to Shikamaru.

“It wasn’t nearly enough to be intoxicating.”

“I’m a police officer, kid, not your chess club buddy. You’re not driving.”

Asuma pulled Shikamaru’s keys up and jingled them, prompting the younger boy to pat down his jacket and pockets, searching for his car keys in vain.

Shikamaru cursed and reached for the keys. “Give ‘em back!”

“Not a chance, neighbor.” Asuma smiled back over at Guy and nodded. “I’ve got it here. You guys go.”

Guy waved his thanks and then pointed Sakura back towards the house, past Yamato and Shisui. Of the two, Shisui turned around and looked like he wanted to ask something, but Asura nudged Sakura along and hurried to catch up with Guy.

They climbed into the cruiser and Guy drove them back in relative silence, keeping the windows down enough for a breeze that tangled Sakura’s hair. Asura’s hand was still in her’s, otherwise she would have tried braiding back what she could.

Before long they were pulling into the long driveway of her home and the motion sensitive floodlights came on all on their own.

“Can you stay for a little while?” Sakura asked, tired but determined to stay up if that meant getting help from Guy. “I think I need to show you something.”

Guy glanced behind in the rearview mirror. “More marks?” he asked.

“Not exactly. Something Anko left. I forgot she bit me when we fought last. I was bruised all over but that’s not it. Now the wound looks-well, I can show you once we’re inside. I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t know if a doctor can even help.”

“Of course. Let’s get in then.”

Guy pulled up and parked the car, following the duo inside. Sakura unlocked the door and was promptly tackled by several different dogs, all starved for affection. She picked up Chainsaw and held him to her chest, letting him lick her all over her face as she waded through the rest of her furry friends. Guy flipped on lights as he followed her in, familiar with the layout of the house to know where all the switches were and what they went to.

Sakura opened the back door to let the dogs out, but there was a doggy door they could have used if they were so desperate, and each one of her dogs ignored the offer. Ginger, the golden, was busy trying to roll onto her back across Guy’s shoes so he would pet her and spare her some attention.

“Let me see it,” Guy urged, reaching down to pet Ginger, ever the multitasker.

Sakura lifted her shirt only enough for him to see the discoloration and puncture sight. In the light from the kitchen she could see how the dark splotches stretched further than she first thought. Was that because it was brighter in the kitchen or was it because the infection was spreading?

“Hydra’s curse,” Guy breathed, shoulders sagging as he knelt in front of Sakura.“I’ve seen it before. It’s a little less potent than I remember it being, and I wonder if that’s because she’s a renegade returning to the games or if it’s some other reason.” He motioned for her to drop her shirt and she did. “You’ll need that either purified or healed. That means summoning the Chalice from the gold deck.”

Sakura felt Asura stiffen by the kitchen table. It was going to be the last time she ignored him. She faced Guy, but turned her eyes to watch Asura as she asked, “Why? What’s so special about the other Chalice card?”

“Indra is a healer. It’s fortunate you have already won him over.”

_Oh_.

“Indra is the other Chalice…and that’s your brother, isn’t it?” Sakura asked, now facing Asura. His reactions made sense. “The one you don’t like talking about?”

Asura made a strangled noise.

“Too bad for that, he’s useful to us now.” Guy straightened and Ginger whined for more pets before dashing around to where Asura stood. “We’ll talk about you getting too trigger happy for more cards some other time. Now you need to summon the physical manifestation of the Golden Chalice for him to heal your wound.”

“You can’t think of a doctor who could help?” Asura asked, looking worriedly at Sakura’s bruise. “You’re all much more advanced then from what I remember.”

Guy’s expression turned grim, something Sakura would never get used to. “No. There is no such creature in the natural world and so no natural means will suit remedying it. Don’t put your personal feelings above the well being of your duelist.”

Asura hiked his shoulders and glanced to the side, absently scratching the Golden Retriever rubbing up against his side. “Of course not. I would never.”

Sakura tugged at the collar of her shirt and glanced down at the freckles across her chest, peppered in the shapes of mirrored constellations. She remembered the last time she summoned Asura on an impulse. She hadn’t known what to expect but this time would be different.

“I might be exhausted after this,” she murmured out loud.

“It is fortunate you have all day tomorrow to sleep. Classes begin the end of this week for you, don’t they?” Guy asked. She was touched he remembered even with all the craziness occupying his time and thoughts.

“A week from today,” Sakura said, dropping her shirt collar back. “Okay, give me a sec.”

Sakura stepped back and Mop, her Irish Wolfhound whined from where he sat nearby. Chainsaw barked as the energy in the kitchen changed, shifting as she dipped into the magic behind her third eye. It was a little easier than last time, when she blindly stumbled into it. The difference was like falling into a moving river verses wading into the calm corner of a lake.

She opened her eyes and felt the tingle at her fingertips. A collection of cards twirled in mid air between her extended palms. The Eye was first, followed by Asura’s glass Chalice. The Stag, and Cygnus, the Swan, both twinkled next to Leo. Dead in the center a gold lined card turned, twinkling with the image of a golden chalice among flowers, encircled by a snake. She almost dropped her concentration at the image but pushed on, reaching for that card and pouring her own magic into in.

“The Power to tear the world asunder and turn the wheel of fate,” she whispered to herself, not knowing where the familiar words came from. “Give me the power to move kingdoms, **_Crator_**. The power to revolutionize the world!”

She smelled peonies and something heavy, like wine, and then she was stumbling back on her heels, nearly tripping over her own ankles as her legs turned to jelly.

Asura caught her, supporting her from behind as the flowers melted into air like ghosts. In their midst stood a new figure with the same noble features as Asura, if a bit more sharp and delicate. His hair was long and unbound, spilling over his shoulders in dark chestnut waves. She wasn’t sure if there was paint around his eyes or if there was a trick in the light, but his eyes stood out, dark and cutting.

The similarities to Asura were undeniable, but for as similar as they were the differences were just as striking.

Indra turned, surveying the room, Guy, the dogs, the door and windows, before settling on his brother and Sakura. “Ah, Asura, there you are. I should have known.”

Asura _tisked_, helping Sakura up with a glower of his own. “Hello to you too, brother. Can’t say it’s a pleasure.”

Indra’s eyes switched from Asura to Sakura and the animosity turned soft. ”And Sakura?” He inclined his head in a sort of nod. “There is no mistake. I’ve been anticipating this meeting for several years, though one’s concept of time is not ideal when bound between worlds. Thank you for the release.”

Asura made a sound of disgust behind Sakura, but kept his words to himself. She’d speak with him later, and hopefully he’d have a better reason for not mentioning Indra’s special skill sooner, like as soon as she showed him her injury.

“Well, at least there are two of them now,” Guy sighed, rubbing his face.

Indra turned to see Guy and his eyes narrowed. “The Lion’s champion? No. That title has been passed on….” Indra then turned to Sakura and a small smile curved the edges of his lips up, “to _my_ duelist.” 

“Guy’s still my friend, my family. Even if it’s a new game. Do you remember him or know who he is? When you were still in the card you shared some of my memories didn’t you?”

“Precious few,” Indra answered. “But, I am not unaware of this new world’s proclivities. I know enough. What I don’t, I can learn easily.”

“That’s neat, but not the reason you were called up. Sakura has need of your abilities,” Asura interrupted, tone terse.

Indra’s eyes settled on Sakura, sweeping over her, searching. “And does that bother you, dear brother?” He lifted his eyes up over Sakura’s head to where Asura stood. “The fact that there is something you can’t do, or is it the fact that it’s something only I can do?”

“Not the time to be an asshole,” Asura growled.

“As if I could ever be so crass,” Indra huffed with a roll of his eyes.

He approached Sakura and knelt down in front of her, reaching for her hand to turn over. His slid his thumb over her wrist and settled on her pulse, than closed his eyes to listen carefully.A moment later he lifted his eyes to meet hers and she could tell he had noticed something.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing I can’t cure, but I am surprised you’re still standing. It’s progressed aggressively for many hours. How are you not in any pain?”

Sakura looked up suddenly to where Guy was watching her from across the room. His eyes were just as wide. Honestly, she hadn’t felt anything but sore. She didn’t know she was supposed to be in pain, or what the Hydra’s curse was supposed to look like when it came to fruition.

“I’m fine, but not the most steady,” she admitted honestly. “But that could be because it’s so late. I’m normally in bed by now.”

In spite of the tense situation Guy chuckled and flashed her a grin. “Doubtful,” he laughed. “The youth never retire before midnight. Kakashi told me you’re terrible about staying up.”

Sakura felt her ears turn pink at being caught in a lie. It wasn’t nearly as late as she thought it was, as the witching hour was still a ways off.

“If you’re tired then it would be best if you sat somewhere. I can work anywhere, but you might prefer some privacy,” Indra told her, straightening. He glanced back towards the hall with its doorways and doors. “Do you have your own chambers.”

“I have a bedroom upstairs. Will that work?” she asked.

He nodded slowly, watching her. “It….will.”

Sakura waved for Mop and Bagel, her Russian Wolfhound, to follow her out of the kitchen. Chainsaw needed no encouragement, but Ginger stayed behind, still trying to get pets from Guy and Asura.

They crowded around her legs on the stairs, almost tripping her at times, but she took the stairs two at a time and reached the second floor ahead of most of them. When she turned to look back Indra was still at the base, watching her oddly.

“You coming? It’s up here,” Sakura called, pointing.

There wasn’t a lot else on the second floor, mostly just her bedroom and bathroom and a spare room where Kakashi stashed the junk he couldn’t bring himself to part with. He came from a long line of hoarders and the attic was a horror Sakura didn’t dare brave.

Indra held onto the railing and followed her up at a more reserved pace, shoulders drawn tense as if bracing for a reprimand. When he reached her Sakura led him into her room, turning on the overhead lights in place of the colored Christmas strands she usually preferred at night. She figured he would want to see.

She pushed back in the trundle, noticing how Karin’s things were left behind, before turning around to perch on the edge of the bed.

“Your room?” Indra asked, gesturing to their surroundings.

Mop jumped up and circled in on himself before laying down on her bed while Bagel found his favorite spot under her desk on top of her narwhal slippers.

“Yeah, this is mine. Do you need to see it to heal something?” Sakura asked, touching her shirt at the base, preparing to lift it like she had for Asura and Guy earlier.

“Not necessarily,”Indra answered, swallowing. He licked his lips and then knelt down next to her, close enough to touch. He held out his hand, gesturing for her to hold it. When she did his thumb found her pulse again. “This is enough,” he murmured.

“Will it hurt?” she asked before he could do anything.

“Not at all, least it shouldn’t.” He frowned at her question. “But I am concerned with your lack of pain considering how crippling a Hydra’s bite can be. We may need to investigate the reason for that at a later date. For now, I will remove the toxins and reverse the damage done.”

“Thank you.”

He was quiet before nodding his head and closing his eyes. “No thanks are necessary.”

A moment later Sakura felt the magic in the air, static like and hot as it rolled off Indra in waves. He held her wrist with one hand and then lifted the other. It was tense and then it wasn't. The shift was barely noticeable. A heartbeat later gold began to pool in the palm of his hand. It grew and grew until it dripped off his fingers, turning from liquid into something solid, adapting the shape of a chalice. The gold finished solidifying in the shape of his card’s chalice and Sakura remembered the peony flowers being a symbol of healing in the language of flowers.

Indra breathed deep and more magic rolled. In the center of the empty chalice something murky and green began to pool. A moment later the chalice was half filed with what looked like liquid emerald. It swirled and caught the light like something precious.

Indra opened his eyes and presented the chalice to her, one hand still on her wrist.

“Drink,” he urged.

Sakura took the chalice with her free hand and inhaled, smelling nothing. She tipped it back and swallowed mouthfuls of tasteless liquid. It was no different then water, no matter how cold it was going down. She felt it hid her belly and burn a little warmer.

She almost dropped the chalice as she pitched forward, doubling over on herself while the heat spread through her. Something felt ripped in her, like a barrier was torn down and then suddenly she could feel pain, a long absent pain that had been making a home in her body from the moment Anko’s bite first pieced skin.

Sakura choked on her own scream as new pain swept through her, chased quickly by something colder and soothing. She felt torn open and then soothed back into peace as Indra’s medicine smothered the hurt from inside.

“Sakura?” Indra called, dropping her wrist to brace her shoulders. Mop was up and whining behind her, but she didn’t respond to either of them as a wave of pain swelled and then passed, followed by another and then another until they were no more than discomforts.

“I’m fine,” she breathed, leaning back and reaching for her sheepdog. Mop licked at her face and she scratched him behind his ears, feeling drowsy. “I’m fine,” she echoed once more.

“You were in pain.”

“No, I mean yes I was, but there had been something masking the pain until just now. Whatever kept the pain numbed quit working and I felt what you said I should have been feeling for a little bit. Then your medicine chased it out,” Sakura chuckled weakly.

She reached with her free hand and slipped it under her shirt, feeling the smooth skin. Not caring if he saw, Sakura leaned back and lifted her shirt enough to see the shadow of Anko’s bite breaking up and returning to normal. The bites were red around the edges and looked inflamed, but everything else was returning to normal and she suspected the bites would heal on their own, not much later.

“You did it,” Sakura breathed, dropping her shirt back in place. “Wow, that was amazing. Thank you.”

Indra nodded, avoiding her eyes. “I told you thanks were not necessary.”

“Yeah, but I meant it. That was terribly convenient for me, how you were able to just take care of my problem. I wish I had known sooner.”

Indra glanced back her way and lifted a hand, fingers flexing, before touching one of the cuts left on her face from when she crashed through the glass. The concealer and makeup had all but faded, and the angry marks were more visible than ever. Where Indra touched Sakura felt a tingle.

“Wha-?”

“If you had, I would have done something about these sooner. You are a canvas of bruises and wounds. What did you do?” He asked in a critical tone, tracking his fingers over her face and behind her ear, following the shallow cuts until they melted away.

Sakura hummed, trying her best to keep still as his magic ran like a tickle across her skin. “The two of you really don’t get along, do you? He said as much when I asked.”

Indra’s lips turned down. “No, we do not. But the animosity is his to hold on to as long as he wishes. _I_ do not care anymore, except when it interferes with my and my own's well being.”

Sakura snickered, feeling lightheaded and tired. “It doesn’t sound like you don’t care. Sounds like you’re miffed.”

“Miffed.” He repeated the word like it was something dirty he had to take a second pass at.

Sakura waved her hand sideways. “Eh, it means annoyed.”

Indra braced his hands on his thighs and stood. “I know what it means. I am not miffed.”

“Not even a little? Why not?”

Indra pat at the ends of his tunic, seemingly beating away imaginary wrinkles. His clothing was just as old fashioned and odd as Asura’s had been in the beginning. In the morning, before they left for anywhere, she would have to lend him something new to wear.

“My emotions are better when they are not the master of me. If that will be all, I expect you will want to send me back.”

Sakura blinked, a bit lost. “What?”

“Return me to the cards. I am sure you are eager to rest.” He gestured to her freckles, the ones shaped like his constellation.

“What are you talking about? I was going to get you some spare clothes and a place to sleep for the night. Isn’t that what you were expecting? Asura has been out of his card this whole time…days, in fact.”

Indra glanced to the doorway then back at her. “I am sure it is no strain to someone who has been burdened with her marks since childhood, you’ve developed an impressive stamina, but even if it is no great taxation to you, it must be inconvenient to house another guest.”

“It’s not…really it isn’t.” Sakura stood and ran her hand down Mop’s head, scratching him behind his ears. “Since Kakashi went missing it’s been lonely here. Is it because you’re uncomfortable around your brother? If you don’t want to be here I won’t force you, of course.”

“I have no qualms staying under the same roof as my brother. If you’re worried about infighting then be at peace.” 

Sakura thought back to Asura’s expressions and his hesitation to so much as talk about his brother, much less summon him. Indra didn’t seem volatile, but he also didn’t seem like the type to back down when provoked. Though, to be fair, Sakura had only known him for a total of twenty-five minutes.

“I hadn’t thought of that, actually,” Sakura admitted. “Are there other cards that are prone to fighting amongst themselves?”

“Most of the cards do not have sentient hosts. Rather, they manifest as enhancements the duelist might use to better their chances during encounters. Have you pursued this with your other marks?”

“I haven’t had any of the others very long.”

He inclined his head to the window, left closed but unlatched. There wasn’t a screen to keep her from slipping out onto the roof, as she had many times before.

“If you are not too weary...”

“I’m throughly exhausted, but far too curious,” Sakura chuckled, pushing the window open and climbing out. She stepped onto the roof and turned back to see Indra easily follow her out. “Now what?” she asked.

“The three other cards you have not yet utilized are all equipment cards. The Swan, The Stag, The Lion…each enhances your own abilities. Both Chalices are sentient auxiliary. Specifically, the Stag is a transportation card but that counts as an equipment type.”

“What is this one, The Eye?”

Indra looked up to where Sakura stood at the tip of the roof’s slant pointing to her own forehead. The single freckle, iridescent enough to look purple in the moonlight, winked through her hair.

“One of the few, rare exceptions,” he answered simply. “A different card then.”

Sakura inhaled and reached inside herself for the power that was starting to feel like second nature. The cards, all of them, twinkled into existence above her palms. Sakura opened her eyes and reached for **Cygnus**, The Swan, catching it between her fingers.

“Give me the power to move kingdoms, _Cygnus_. The power to take flight!”

Unlike before, Sakura felt awash with light as her body turned transparent, intangible, and then solid again.She stretched her hands out away from her, feeling them gloved in feathers. She staggered back and felt the heels, the weight of the dress, and then the pull from something half formed out of her back.

“No way,” she gasped, glancing back over her shoulder and seeing the pair of white swan wings, shimmering like mother of pearl lined each down feather.

At her thought the wings flexed and then flapped expertly. It was almost enough to lift her, and she felt light enough for flight if that’s what she wanted. Her heart threatened to explode she was so excited.

She turned on the tip of the roof and her wings beat, carrying her upwards as she turned around. With very little effort she was suspended in midair, levitating more by magic and less by the force of her wings. She turned once in one direction and then again in the other direction. Her dress was split up the front up to her navel exposing feathered white shorts that matched the fingerless cuffs around her hands.

“I am a magical girl,” Sakura laughed, feeling light all over.

She kicked the air and then curled her legs up under her. It was almost like being under water.

She touched down on the peak of the roof and steadied herself. The ends of her dress billowed out behind her, where it wouldn’t hinder her movements. On the lower lip of the roof Indra stood watching her with glassy far off eyes that saw everything. his lips parted but there was no sound as he simply watched her. 

She opened her mouth to say something, to thank him, but the magic around her wobbled, swallowing her like an oversized coat. It swelled too hot and then everything was falling apart and floating away on soft feathers.

There was a snapping sound.Sakura slipped from the lip of the roof but Indra caught her before she could fall far, cradling as the dress and wings melted away.

“Too much,” she heard him say.

Her head felt like it had been pushed underwater. Everything was swimming and she knew it had to do with her exhaustion. Somehow all she could do for that was laugh. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to spoil it for you guys, but Cygnus is my favorite card of Sakura's and it is 100% because it is a magical girl transformation card that I wish I had. Also, we finally get Indra and he may or may not have already caught feelings-something his brother was anticipating, maybe? Who knows? I've been dying to bring in Indra since chapter 1. 
> 
> Minato is not acting himself and there are things unfolding in the woods. Tune in next week for more chilling adventures. :)


	9. Crator

Sakura heard Indra mutter under his breath as he slipped back through her window with her in his arms. He didn’t seem hindered by the extra cargo, but hesitated when Mop barked at him once he stepped through.

“S’kay,” Sakura called, voice drowsy sounding even in her own ears. She pawed at his shirt and then tried to move her legs, hoping he would take that as her wanting to stand.

“Here,” Indra said, lowering her onto the bed where Chainsaw and Mop were already waiting for her. They were whining in spite of her assurances, sniffing hard at her face and neck.

“I still need ta-to brush my teeth and change,” she protested when he pushed her back down onto the bed after she tried to stand.

Indra sighed. “It can wait. You’re barely awake right now as it is. You thoroughly exhausted yourself tonight and your body needs the rest. Your power, like any energy, has a limit. You have exceeded yours.” 

Sakura reached up and pushed his hand away. “Fine, I’ll rest, just let me brush my teeth first.”

“Stubborn creature,” Indra scolded.

He stood aside and shadowed her to the bathroom, waiting for her to drop. Knowing he had good cause to be so worried, Sakura brushed her teeth and changed into pajamas before he could complain or see her fall over. He only looked away when she slipped behind the door to change.

When she was done he stayed in her doorway, watching her to make sure she reached her bed without falling or passing out.

“Did you know the cards come with costume changes?” Sakura asked around a yawn, pushing Mop aside to tug her sheets free and slip under.

“That’s enough questions for one night. You’re exhausted and I will be here in the morning, thanks to you.” Indra crossed his arms and watched her from her room’s threshold.

“Don’t sound so glum about it. Do you know where the guest room is? Will you be okay?”

Indra made a face that might have been a cross between frustrated and amazed. “You really shouldn’t be awake right now, much less making conversation. That’s enough now, rest.”

Sakura closed her eyes and leaned her head back, feeling Chainsaw curl up behind her back knees. Moments later the wood floor creaked with Indra’s movement to the stairs. All the old sounds of the house were something her heart knew before her head. Sakura listened, half asleep, as he took the stairs down, each step creaking in its own unique way.

“Where is she?”

Sakura opened her eyes and sat up on her elbows, listening to Asura’s voice from down the stairwell. It was quiet, but it carried enough for her to hear it from her bed.

“She’s in her bed, sleeping,” Indra answered.

“What did you do with her?”

“Nothing that should make you concerned, brother. She is exhausted and needs rest. You know better than to doubt that.”

“Then the venom…?”

“Gone,” Indra answered. “Naturally, it was child’s play for me. Next time don’t let it spread so much before letting her call me. She’s far too sensitive to your thoughts and feelings for a duelist. In the future, try to explain it to her so she understands.”

“She’s not like the other duelists. She isn’t even in this game to win it.”

Indra groaned at his brothers words. “And you didn’t correct her, did you?”

“It’s not my place,” Asura mocked, sounding too much like a slowed down, deeper version of his brother. “You didn’t sound interested in helping beyond what was asked of you. That change, or are you still just looking out for yourself?”

“Helping my duelist would be looking out for myself. You fail to grasp logic.”

“You don’t need to do anything, Indra. She was fine without you.”

“Did you forget the part where you almost let her die?”

Asura’s voice was mocking, egging his brother into a fight. “That was thanks to your ability, and the only reason you’re still here. Healing could have belonged to anyone else and we would have summoned them just the same. You’re not special.”

“Yet she didn’t send me back.”

There was a pause where Sakura suspected her hearing couldn’t catch what was whispered between the two brothers, but then Asura spoke up again, just as loud as before. “One day you’re going to run out of forgiveness and nothing but your mistakes will keep you company at night.”

“_I’m_ not afraid of being alone.”

Someone jostled on the stairs and Sakura heard the creak from the topmost steps and laid back down just in time to miss Asura’s shadows falling over the threshold. She didn’t know why she shut her eyes and pretended to sleep, since there was nothing she had done wrong. It was her house and they hadn’t bothered to go anywhere privet to have their spat. Still, she pressed her face into the pillows before she knew what she was doing.

“Sakura?” Asura called from the doorway.

She thought about cracking open an eye and sitting up, of answering him and letting him know she was awake, but Mop was at her feet and Chainsaw was behind her knees and her eyes were heavy. He would be there in the morning as would she.

He took a single step into her room and then stopped. She heard the familiar creak of floorboards as he crossed too slowly and stopped again. A moment later the creaking came from outside her room, and then the stairwell. Asura took them one at a time and then the door to outside open and shut.

Sakura stayed awake to listen, her mind still woozy and dizzy with too many things to consider, but eventually she had to succumb. She fell asleep without realizing it, too tired to stir until almost noon the next day.

* * *

_What’s the value in a dream you can’t remember? _

* * *

The sun was high enough to cast short shadows that barely reached her bed. When she reached out to turn the alarm clock on the nightstand towards her she swore and then thanked God it wasn’t a school day, otherwise she would have missed most of it.

She moved her legs and felt empty. Mop and Chainsaw were both gone. She looked and saw the space under her desk was empty as well. Bagel must have left earlier with the others.

When she stood her body felt twice as heavy and half as steady. She made her way into the bathroom and washed away the smell of smoke and dirt from the night previous and then toweled her hair mostly dry. It was long enough to pass her shoulders and tickle the center of her back, but when it was drying it bunched up into curls she had to brush out.

She caught sight of herself in the mirror, undressed and wearing three new constellation freckles across various parts of her body. Asura and Indra’s marks were warm across her chest, and slightly glimmering. The others stayed dull and inactive.

When she checked the messages on her phone she was surprised by how few she had. Last night in the car she had texted Naruto, Menma, and Karin each a couple of times while Guy drove. It was half a day later and still nothing. She could see her messages had been read, but nothingcame from any of them.

‘_Makes sense if he doesn’t trust me to endanger his son_,’ she thought bitterly about Naruto’s father and the way he dragged his son out of a party. They weren’t teenagers anymore, it had been a bit embarrassing, honestly.

“Sakura, are you awake?” Asura called up the stairs from where he stood at the base.

“I’m up!” Sakura hollered back.

“You hungry at all?” he asked, still at the bottom and refusing to climb up. “Guy brought groceries for you this morning but you were still asleep. You want some eggs? I can make eggs.”

Sakura ruffled her hair, scratching it up until her scalp quit itching. She stepped out of the bathroom to lean over the railing and look down. Asura saw her and smiled wide, hands dropped lazily into the pockets of Kakashi’s spare sweats.

“I’ll eat in a little while,” Sakura said. “I need to finish cleaning up. Is Guy still here?”

“Nah, he left and told us to tell you to eat all his food before he bought more because you don’t eat healthy enough. We told him it could be a while before you woke up again, but I’m glad you’re awake. You sure you’re okay?”

Sakura yawned and then nodded, grinning out of the corner of her mouth. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m still a bit tired, but I think that’s just because I’m waking up.I’l be down in five. Oh! The dogs! I ned to feed them,” she exclaimed, panicking about the hour. Kakashi always fed them when she slept in so late. He always remembered the stuff she forgot.

Asura just laughed up at her. “Don’t worry about that. I took care of it already. Guy showed me how to do it and what to give them. They’re restless for a walk though, so maybe you could take them soon?”

At the mention of a ‘walk,’ several different voices barked loud and started to pace and yip.She heard Chainsaw whining the loudest, as he was often the most neglected on such walks. He was the only one who wasn’t good without a leash.

Sakura laughed and slipped back into her bedroom to change for the day before descending to the lower level. She stopped when she saw a pile of freshly washed bedsheets neatly folded in a basket left on the couch. She could smell the lavender fabric softener from the edge of the room.

“Who did laundry?” she asked, stepping into the kitchen.

In the living room the tv had been left on to play the news, but the volume had been turned down so only the pictures shared any real information. A news anchor ran the same story about the missing kid with his photos from high school so many years ago for the fourth day in a row.

Indra looked up from the sink where he was hand washing a number of plates from the day prior. He nodded to her and she felt silly, but nodded back mirroring the gesture.

“That would be me. Rest assured I know how to run a laundry machine and can operate most of the devices you have used before,” he said. As soon as he was finished speaking he turned back to his task and returned to hand washing the dishes.

Asura stepped into the room beside her. “I can make eggs and toast. You should eat first.”

“Maybe just the toast this time,” she said around a yawn as she moved to help him retrieve all the things he would need. “Did you both eat yet? I should have plenty now.” 

“Yes,” Indra interjected simply. He didn’t turn around to face her so he didn’t see the face Asura made behind his back.

“We both had enough food on our own. We don’t require as much nutrients as you, and the same could be said for sleep.”

Sakura opened the fridge and mentally thanked Guy for thinking of her and being smart enough to realize what she still hadn’t. Sakura never remembered anything. That was always Kakashi’s job.

_‘You’d forget your head if it wasn’t attached to your body,_’ Kakashi joked in her memories.

Sakura shut the door and stood, carton of eggs in hand. “I’ll make these for myself.Asura, you said you spoke with Guy. Did he say anything else beside just how to feed the dogs? Anything about the games?”

“His allegiance lies elsewhere,” Indra interjected.

“Don’t be so critical right off the bat,” Asura admonished. “You don’t know anything.”

Indra set the last dish in the drying rack and turned to face both his brother and Sakura. “He follows the orders of the town’s leader, and that leader favors his own kin, as is natural. The game is without mercy or favor. A father who cares will spare no advantage to ensure their child’s survival.”

“Even if it means cutting his kid off from his friends,” Sakura added, cracking open an egg. “I can’t fault him for wanting to protect Naruto, but I’m not a threat to him.”

“You should be, you have six different cards while he has one,” said Indra.

Sakura poured the egg batter into the pan and let it sizzle. “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do what I could to protect him. He’s still my friend. Besides, Anko, Kakashi, and Guy all survived the last games without winning them. I did the math, its possible to end the games with zero casualties. Naruto and I don’t have to be enemies.”

“It’s never been done before. There are plenty of games where certain cards are never uncovered or found and the duelists have to make do with what is in front of them,” said Indra.

“My memory is hazy,” Asura added, “but I want to say I remember in several different games there were alliances that formed. Whenever those organized the survival rate went way up. It might be good to find some allies but that doesn’t necessarily mean Naruto. His dad does sound serious about sheltering the kid. Did you notice his brother?”

Sakura scrambled her eggs and then scraped them out onto her plate, shaking her head ‘no.’

“He knew,” Asura said. “That kid knew the truth about the games. Dad probably made him Naruto’s watchdog to keep him out of trouble.”

Sakura couldn’t argue the point. It sounded like something mayor, Minato Uzamaki would do. Naruto wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box, but he was one of the kindest and most lovable. Sometimes, that meant he got taken advantage of and it naturally always fell to Menma to know better and watch out for the both of them. When they were kids, Menma was always the one with the watch keeping track of time for when they needed to go home or when they needed to eat.

“I don’t want to engage in any of the other duelists if I can help it. I think I’m doing okay just finding cards on my own. The last one was out in the woods. I have a feeling we might find some more if we go exploring that way.” She glanced up from her food to see Asura and Indra both watching her. “Does that sound right?”

“Cards will manifest where they please. Some will be near, others will be far. There are cards that are drawn towards civilization, while others run from it,” Indra said.

“The woods might be the perfect place to start though,” Asura added.

From under the table Bagel and Mop both whined loud. The dogs were too smart not to know they had been talking about the ‘_woods_’ where she took them on ‘_walks_’ all the time.

Sakura finished off her breakfast and grabbed a jacket. She offered an extra one to Indra who was already wearing some of Kakashi’s older things, but he waved the offer off with the excuse that the cold didn’t bother him. Asura accepted the jacket when she offered it and he thanked her for it, finishing with a kiss to the crown of her skull.

Indra made a sound and slipped out ahead of both of them.

The dogs swelled out around her and Chainsaw was the only one she caught to leash, as the others were well trained enough to come when she called them. The whistle was cold against her skin under her shirt.

“Indra didn’t mention it, but did you use one of the other cards last night?” Asura asked her after they had left the house and yard behind. 

“Cygnus,” she answered.

She smiled to herself remembering the feeling of weightlessness that came with the magic of flight. Her whole appearance had changed, which was more than she had expected. It made her wonder what the other cards would do for her.

“I wish I had been there to see it, but I guess there will be other times.”

She couldn’t shake the smile she felt on her face when she thought of flying again. The dress wasn’t terrible either.

“Do you remember what some of the other cards do?” she asked.

Asura didn’t have the best memory, even though he knew more about her than Indra did, but he was able to recall what several different cards could do if they were won over. Most of the cards he knew about were from the glass set. There were cards that equipped the user with weapons and magics, while others summoned storms or warriors to heed the call of their summoner. The rarest types of cards were multi class cards that could do several things at once.

“Lucky you, that you came into this game with one of the rarest cards of all as your starter,” Asura laughed before lightly poking her forehead where her third eye would be. “I don’t think anyone actually knows the extent of the Eye’s abilities. There’s only a few others nearly as interesting.”

“I wish it didn’t make me so sick,” she sighed, rubbing where he poked her.

“When were you sick?” Indra asked, interjecting himself into their conversation. He had stopped from walking ahead to turn and wait for them.

“When it shows me things, like the other day I woke up and couldn’t stop it from showing me this scene, I think it was from one of the previous games.”

Sakura described the vision and then her symptoms briefly, watching how Indra took her words. He didn’t seem to doubt her, but there was still a tilt to his lips. When he asked her how frequently she got sick she could only tell him of the one time.

“If it happens again inform me immediately. I might be able relieve the pain,” he finally answered with.

Sakura pushed her hands into her pockets to give her hands something to do. “Thanks. It didn’t last that long. Maybe it was just a fluke for the first time.”

“Maybe,” Indra admitted, turning aside to let her pass.

Sakura dropped down into the dell and followed it along until it swelled flat and even with the rest of the forest floor. That’s when she expected to seethe skeleton of a gatehouse hanging onto what was left of the estate’s gate. She had seen it a hundred times, touched it, climbed it, and drawn it into her journals and it was always the same…always old and decrepit and forgotten.

“Sakura, what’s the matter?” Asura asked, stopping beside her when she drew short suddenly.

Sakura stared up at the nearly pristine gatehouse with freshly potted plants in the mulch around the sidewalk and front porch. The gatehouse was four stories of brick exterior and charming New England styled shutters.

It was supposed to be crumbling and missing most of its walls, but what Sakura looked at might have been a twenty to thirty year old building poorly maintained.

“Sakura?” Asura called to her again when she didn’t answer.

“This isn’t supposed to be here,” Sakura whispered, afraid of what might come out of the skinny, tall gatehouse.

“There were ruins all along the way here. This structure is just in better condition than the others,” Indra tried to explain.

“Maybe someone fixed it up,” Asura added.

But Sakura knew that wouldn’t have been possible in two days. The repair was too extensive.

“No, I know these woods and I know these ruins. This…it’s not supposed to be here, and the mansion…” Sakura’s eyes went wide and she took off running.

Behind her she heard echoes of her name, butt Bagel and Mop were already dashing off ahead of her with Ginger barking at her heels. They knew the way to where she was heading.

The road was less ruined up the mansion behind the trees, and the same could be said for the actual structure. The heavy doors weren’t chewed in and the windows were all filled with glass. The bright was darker, newer and less sun-bleached.

“A house?” Asura asked, stopping short alongside her. “What’s so special about it?”

Sakura had trouble believing what she was seeing, but she climbed the steps up to the front door regardless. “It’s different too, like the gatehouse. It’s newer or is it older? It’s not a ruin anymore.”

When she pulled on the door it opened slowly without squeaking on its hinges. It was heavy and made of solid wood with brass knobs that gleamed with polish. Inside the difference was even more stark. The dust with all her footprints was gone, and the walls had wallpaper again. Sakura inhaled and smelled tobacco and spice instead of rot and trees.

“It’s remarkably well kept for being so secluded,” Indra remarked behind her. He shut the door behind them, letting it latch into place with a neat click that came from the door fitting in its hinges. 

The fact that there were end tables with art deco stained glass lamps and crystal ash trays only furthered her unease. She noticed paintings too.

“How can a person tell if there was magic used here?” Sakura asked, turning to face the boys. “I know something was done here. I don’t know why or how.”

“How important is this place to you?” Indra asked with a gaze that studied her carefully for a reaction.

Sakura felt unbalanced as she met the sterner brother’s gaze. “It’s-it’s just where I would come. I would leave my journal here and-ah, my journal!” 

She left the boys in the hall and dashed down to the door that should have led to the library room. When she pushed open the door she found the room just as transformed as the rest of the house. The books were back on the shelves, the desk was unmarked, and all the decorations were in place. A colorful globe swirled in its golden stand. By the window a brass telescope pointed up to the stars.

Sakura reached around the desk for the top drawer and pulled it open, letting a handful of fountain pens roll back and bump into the spin of her journal. The tin with her broken colored pencils was there too.

Sakura sighed in relief, picking it out and flipping it open. “It’s still here.”

The journal flipped to a page about a man made out of stars falling out of a dripping heavens. She flipped one more page and saw a picture of a Stag made out of stars. Another page and she saw a woman in robes holding a single candle, and then there were half a dozen pages about different birds.

_‘The birds carry the song of our victories to the teeth of the beasts’_

The handwriting was hers but she couldn’t remember where the idea had come from. Her journal had always been a hole for her to dump the more disturbing and fascinating ideas that found their way into her head. So many of them had come from dreams. Did that mean Kakashi’s seal blocking the Eye hadn’t worked as well as they thought it did?

“Did you draw these?” Asura asked, voice pitching with excitement as he tugged on the corner of her journal to see better. “Oh wow, you have notes about the game in here.”

“It’s not wise to leave such a thing where others might find it,” said Indra from across the room.

“I didn’t know about the game when I made these pages,” Sakura admitted on a whisper. She let Asura take the journal when he tugged it from her hands. Her fingers felt limp. “Is it…is my magic somehow transforming the house?”

“No. You would have known or felt it if such a spell drew its working from you,” answered Indra. “Likely this all has been caused by some third party or it may just stand as a testament to the game’s penchant for anomalies. Regardless, it might be best if we explore further to make sure no one else is using this place.”

“It could also be a card causing all of this,” said Asura. He looked up from her journal and offered it back to her. “Sometimes they alter the surrounding reality. I’ve just seen it with dying all the trees blue or white but I’ve heard of other stories, I’m sure.”

Mop barked from somewhere outside the room and Chainsaw tugged at the end of his leash, straining to join Bagel and Ginger who ran out to join Mop in his favorite spot in the whole house: the printing room.

Sakura followed the sounds with careful steps, mentally cataloging each new change to the old mansion. The walls had electric candelabra like the kind form the turn of the century in addition to the new, yet familiar, wallpaper.

_A man was late, running through the halls in his three piece suit the electric lights made his slicked back hair gleam as he stopped under one candelabra_.

Sakura stopped in the center of the hallway, hands so limp Chainsaw’s leash slipped through her fingers. She at once felt awash with déjà vu, the feeling that she had run through the same halls with the same wallpaper and lights one time before.

_He threw the cloak over his head and tugged it down before pulling on a handle. The door in the wall rolled back and he descended into the darkness, each step memorized_.

Sakura grabbed the brass candelabra and tugged just as Asura and Indra came up behind her. She heard the click and then a wall section sank before rolling off to the side. Behind it a series of steps twisted down. The ghost of a light pulsated somewhere far off in the darkness, too weak to illuminate anything else. Sakura felt a pull in her chest and a tingle in her bones.

“Another card!” Asura exclaimed. “You did it Sakura, you found it. How did you know the door was even there? You’re so clever.”

Sakura swallowed and tasted copper in the back of her throat. “I just had a hunch I guess.”

“Then, before others arrive,” Indra said, stepping onto the stairs first.

He looked back, expecting her to follow. Sakura took out her phone and turned on its light. Around her the dogs crowded onto the threshold, but dared no lower.

Sakura took one step after another, feeling all too familiar with a place she had never known before.

_In one voice they spoke together.“Cast off your fetters and arm yourself with the power to revolutionize the world.” _

Her freckles itched all over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession time: I love abandoned places and I really liked the idea of a ruined mansion in the middle of the woods that gradually restored itself with magic over time. The characters will learn the why and how of it later on, but for now there are more important things to look out for.
> 
> Also, I am so ready for all the drama the brothers bring with them. They are so much fun to write together. Sakura is going to have her hands full.


	10. The Wand

At the bottom, the floor turned into cut stone and it was a chamber filled lit with drip dried candles and mostly covered mirrors. Heavy drops hid the reflective glass and kept the chamber dark. In the center of the room a ghostly white card rotated, the same color as all the other glass cards.

Sakura hadn’t seen a single black card or silver card. Everything she encountered was from either from the Glass Castle or the Golden Mountain. She wondered if that had anything to do with her starting card belonging to the glass set. 

The card rotated slowly enough for her to see the front and read it. At the bottom it read ‘_The Wand_’ and the picture was of a simple stick beneath a sky with three stars in a near perfect row.

“What type is it?” Sakura asked. She stopped just short of reaching out and claiming it for her own.

Indra made a sound of displeasure, likely meaning he had no more idea than her. Asura leaned forward, peering at the card intently.

“It’s a glass one, so I should know it, but I can’t remember. I want to say it’s a skill card,” Asura said. “Something to do with seeking and finding…”

“You are a wealth of help,” Indra commented dryly.

Sakura heard something like a slap behind her but forced herself not to turn around and see the brothers regress into children. She reached for the card. 

Sakura slipped into the world of The Wand, another glass card without a sound. The dark room burst into light around her and then twinkled into something else. The walls took on new shapes as bookshelf after winding bookshelf shifted into focus.

By the time she touched down on solid ground she was at the end of a long hallway between two tall walls of books. Bookshelves leaned up against each other and as she followed the hall she found more corners and turns than was typical of the average library.

"It's a maze," she murmured out loud.

“I remember now!” Asura exclaimed, hopping up in front of her. “It’s a seek and find. You have to find the wand in the library.”

“_Excellent_ deduction, brother. A gold star for you,” Indra mutters aloud in the same dry voice as before.

This time Asura just glared.

“What am I looking for exactly?” Sakura asked. She reached for a book to take off the shelf, glancing at the cover before flipping it open. It started to seep swamp water through its pages, smelling like the muck of a bayou. She snapped it shut and slammed it back onto the shelf.

She grimaced at the smell that lingers on her hands. “Enchanted books, got it.”

“How are these books even organized?” Asura wondered out loud. “It’s a mess.” Behind him, Indra rolled his eyes but looked away, resisting the urge to mock whatever his brother said. It was a show of strength Sakura suddenly felt proud of.

“The point of the challenge, I would assume,” Sakura sighed. “This is going to take forever.”

“You have forever. No time passes in the outside world while you are in a card’s challenge. One reality’s time doesn’t affect another reality’s time,” Asura said. “As long as you have the sanity for it, we can hold out.”

It didn’t sound so challenging, but after what felt like hours between the three of them opening and slamming books shut on different topics, Sakura was beginning to see the true horror of the card’s challenge. Her brain felt numb and her stomach turned in want of food. Plenty of books opened up to the smell of a full table’s spread, dishes and delights that teased her, but nothing for her mouth but paper.

“When we’re done here, I’m heading back and digging into my secret stash of snacks,” Sakura groaned. She slammed a book back in place and then reached for another one.

“Guy bought you plenty of food. Did you see it?” Asura asked.

“I did, and it’s all good stuff he and Kakashi would make me eat. I always have a stash of junk food hidden somewhere. I doubt he could have found it or even knew about it. The only reason Kakashi knew was because he expected the hoarding and watched for it. Plus, all his dogs ratted me out. It’s impossible to hide food from dogs!”

Asura laughed and paused on his shelf to turn back and watch Sakura going through another book only to slam it shut. “What do you mean he expected it? Was Kakashi also a hoarder?”

“Not with food, just junk that’s been in his family for hundreds of years,” Sakura said. “No, he just expected it because it was something someone warned him about. _Kids who are starved are a lot more likely to steal and hoard food_. Before Kakashi found me I had been lost long enough to go hungry several times over.”

“You starved?”

On the other side of the bookshelf Sakura could see through to the next aisle where Indra rifled through books one after the other, faster then her and Asura. He didn’t pause to listen, but kept flipping.

“Something like that.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Sakura turned and chewed on her lip, regarding Asura anew. “You remember some things or you know things I know right? Do you…do you know who I was with before I was with Kakashi?”

She saw his brows furrow in sympathy. “I don’t know something like that, sorry. It’s all too vague. I don’t even remember how or when you got our marks.”

“That’s a mystery to solve some other time I guess,” she laughed. “Priorities….”

Sakura turned back to the books but her mind slipped off the task back to the questions that had gnawed on her for years. Where had she come from? What was she like before Kakashi? Her actual parents…who were they? Kakashi’s investigation hadn’t turned anything up, and as a ward of the state there was no one to claim her apart from the man that plucked her out of the waters in the first place. If it hadn’t been for Kakashi no one would have seen her, let alone save her.

And then there was the additional layer of mysteries that were her marks. She had been found with three marks before the games even begun. She didn’t remember winning them, or a time before having them. Until last week she had assumed they were regular birthmarks. How had she acquired Asura and Indra without playing the game?

Sakura looked at the cover of a book about swords and turned it away before opening it. A silver saber shot out and clattered harmlessly to the floor. She shook the book once, dislodging a handful of small knives and one Scottish Claymore than fell from the pages for what seemed like days.

“If you won the game, you could have any question answered.”

Sakura looked up from the swords, ignoring Asura’s snickering behind her. There was no one in front of her but she glanced t the side and saw Indra through the shelves, watching her. He bent down and leaned closer to the gap he made by shoving books to the side.

“That’s beside the point. I just want Kakashi to come home, and in order to do that I need to break the curse Anko put on him, trapping him in that card.”

“You could do that, and then you could probably ride out the rest of the games without a fear of risking much. You’d have to lose six duels before that happened and I don’t see you losing one as long as you have that idiot there protecting you.”

Sakura was a bit startled to hear his compliment of Asura. It was likely the first positive thing Indra had said about Asura.

“I’m really grateful I have the both of you helping me. I don’t care about winning if I don’t have to. It’s too much trouble.”She winced at how sad her words sounded in her own ears. She wouldn’t blame him if Andra was a little frustrated with her, but she wouldn’t let his displeasure change her mind.

“I found a book of monsters!” Asura cheered out, sound too much lie a kid in a candy store. “Who wants a break?”

“Insufferable,” Indra groaned. “It would only be a break for _you_.” 

Asura looked to Sakura and his smile grew. “You don’t mind if I take a few minutes to practice, do you? I’m going to get rusty otherwise.” 

Sakura just laughed and then turned to climb up to the top of the nearest bookshelf. Indra was already up there, and he offered her a hand to pull her the rest of the way up. From up top they could see how extensive the world inside the card spanned. There were bookshelves filled with books as far as the eye could see, and the three of them had only looked over a handful. It would take days to comb just half of it.

There was a roar and Asura’s laughed was louder as he ran across the floor with a sword of his making to strike at the summoned bear shaped creature. It screamed and then swiped with claws wide and slow. Asura danced around it easily, only finding some difficulty in cutting through the monster’s thick hide. It took several passes, but he started to wear it down.

A nearby shelf toppled and the monster clawed through books to get away but Asura chased it down with a roar of his own. Sakura saw its back twist into a new head to bite, but Asura turned his sword around in time to stop its teeth with the blade.

Sakura winced when she saw the destruction of the books below.

“Can the wand be destroyed if one of these books gets trashed?” she asked.

“No, that wouldn’t happen so easily. Why do you ask?”

Sakura felt a thrill of excitement in her belly and turned to grin up at the sterner brother. He blinked at her expression, nonplused.

“I have an idea.”

Sakura started to climb down but dropped most of the way and jogged to the mess between a couple of overturned bookcases. Asura sat atop the carcass of a chimera, grinning with an oddly satisfied expression as she approached.

“Did you see me?” he asked in a voice too much like a laugh. It made her want to laugh too.

“You were magnificent.”

Her words seemed to melt Asura, as his eyes slid shut and he hunched his head between his shoulders to hide the flush of new color high on his cheeks.

“Will you help me with something. I want to try summoning Leo.”

“To what ends?” Indra asked from behind her shoulder. “A fire in a hall of paper? That will destroy everything.”

“That’s the point! The Wand will survive and I can claim it out of the charred remains because you said it yourself, it’ll survive. I can’t destroy it like these books here.” Sakura kicked at one of the dead book.

“What a clever idea. What made you think of fit?” Asura asked.

“This place goes on forever. We would have never found that book on our own. I don’t think that’s the point of this challenge. You would need the universe’s best blind luck or a hundred years if you wanted to find the right book, but I don’t have those.” She smiled back at Indra. “I _know_ this is what I’m supposed to be doing.” 

Wordlessly, he stepped back and pressed up against a stack of piled books. “Then do as you feel led. Asura will help you in any way he can and I will be ready to heal you if you should need it.”

Sakura rolled her shoulders, smiling. “I won’t.” 

Sakura didn't have to concentrate or even think about it anymore if she wanted a card in her hand. As soon as the thought was in her mind the card was between her fingers.

She turned her wrist over and then pulled The Lion card out of thin air. Its edges were trimmed in gold and it felt hotter than the rest of her cards. The center image was of a lion with his mane on fire, crouching down on smaller prey. Behind him in the sky were the stars of his constellation. It was the same set of dots as the freckles on her right arm.

"_Leo_, the power to revolutionize the world, **burn**!" she shouted.

The card in her hand lit faster than a match and before she could hold her breath the rest of her body was swallowed in roaring fire, melting and remaking her anew with wild magic.

Her lungs filled with smoke and then she was breathing it all out like some archaic dragon. She felt her entire body vibrate with new magic, louder and more chaotic than any of the other cards. She was still on fire but she wasn't burning, she just felt like it.

Someone called her name and she turned, arms made of flames, body awash with fire. The world was the same, she hovered above the ground, charring where she hovered black.

"You need to pull it back. You're not in control like this," Asura called out to her.

Sakura could barely hear him over the roar of her wildfire, but knew what he was trying to say. She felt the truth of it in her wild bones.

She exhaled again and more smoke billowed out of her. She heaved it through her lungs until her arms turned back to flesh, charred and cracked with embers at her elbows. Her dress was still fluttering around her knees in tongues of flame, but it wasn't out of control like it had been during the initial summoning.

"I have it," she called back, sounding more sure than she felt. She _had_ to. Leo was won with bravery and confidence. Nothing less would control it.

"That is adequate," Indra interjected, stepping forward and raising a hand to signal her. "Now demonstrate your ability to utilize the card. You're burning through your own magic this way."

He didn't say it, but Sakura heard the warning. She couldn't hold onto Leo's form forever.

"I got it," she growled out again, feeling her hair like fire raise off the back of her neck. “Duck behind me.”

The pair of brothers rushed to do as she said. Sakura extended her hands and then bent her elbows back before throwing her body into a spin that spilled red and gold under her. She crackled with energy until she came out of the spin with a ball of fire over her head, as big as a beach ball, but nowhere near as friendly. Her eyes felt like they were on fire as she rotated with all of her body, throwing the fireball as far as possible into the center of the library. 

It exploded with a deafening crack.

Sakura had to throw up her arms and direct the force and the fire around her, sparing the brothers behind her from injury. The explosion tore the bookcases apart and scattered the remains. The fire caught and spread, hungrily devouring all the paper it could reach.

“Not fast enough,” she said out loud. 

Sakura breathed, exhaling another mouthful of black smoke as her finger tips burned black. She turned to her right side and shot out a stream of continual fire. The range wasn’t nearly as impressive, nor was the blast, but it didn’t take nearly as much time to cast as the fireball.

Behind her Asura laughed loudly, whooping and cheering her name. “Keep going! See what else you can do!” he called to her.

Sakura wasn’t sure she understood how she knew to do what she did. It came naturally, like a habit her mind had forgotten but her body hadn’t. Once she started moving she started remembering new things.

Sakura turned and ran in a new direction, feeling the heat as a crown of flaming tongues rotated above her head. Embers circled the crown, waiting to be launched. As paper scraps and books fell around her the rotating lights, the embers from her crown, flew out to burn away anything that came too close.

She inhaled deep, and the parts of her that had shifted back to skin blackened. Inhale stoked the magic’s fires, an exhale filtered poured it out. She would have to maintain a balance between the two so that she had enough magic to cast, but not too much for fear of losing control of it.

There was still plenty of the library that wasn’t on fire. It seemed to go on forever. It would have been impossible to find the book with the wand in it if they kept going through each tome one by one. The only way she would find what she needed was by shifting through the ash.

“You’re awesome, Sakura!”

Asura shouted from atop an overturned bookshelf. He stood next to his brother with a grin as wide as his face would allow. Surrounded by fire, it was his smile that made her cheeks flush and go warm.

She felt more of her body crack and when she looked down she could see how she was mostly black up to her elbows, like a burn matchstick. She exhaled a mouthful of black smoke and started to rotate again, building up more and more fire like before for another fireball attack. This time she spilled fire from just beyond her bent elbows, wrapping herself up in a funnel of fire and smoke. It took longer to craft a fireball, but when she launched it the results were hard to dispute.

She threw herself into the work. She lost herself in the destruction, learning new limits and abilities the Leo card afforded her. She didn’t physically tire when she used the magic, but her mind slipped and she felt the exhaustion elsewhere. She had to concentrate to keep a balance between too much and too little, and it was starting to wear on her.

She threw a wave of fire rolling through the nearest bookcases and one of them exploded like a firecracker while the others went down in flames the way wood and paper are meant to. The explosion stemmed from a book that flew up and off, trailing magenta colored light in its trail.

“The book!” Asura shouted.

“She knows,” Indra snapped.

Sakura leapt and there was enough fire under her heels to propel her up and after the shooting book. She gathered fire in her hand and threw it like a pitched baseball, knocking the book square in the middle. It spilled out of the sky, trailing pages all the way down.

Sakura threw more fire and one of them landed on a page that screamed from the fire. A simple wood staff fell out of the pages and into the fire, untouched and unburnt. Sakura touched down just in front of it, calling the fire back.

The Wand was simple wood without decoration or polish. It was painfully plain. It looked like a stick she might have passed up on a hike through the woods. There was nothing special about it at all aside from the fact that it was unburnt wood.

“Take it,” Indra urged as he followed Asura over. “It’ll put an end to this world.”

Sakura glanced back down at the stick and exhaled until Leo’s magic was gone and she was back in her own skin and clothes again. She knelt and reached out, grabbing the wand at its base, and the world fell apart just as simply.

A moment later the white light faded and she was back in the real world, surrounded by two dizen lit candles and half as many mirrors uncovered. She stumbled, caught unaware, a new trinket in her right hand.

“What? How did those get lit?” she asked.

“Look at the wand,” Asura urged.

Sakura glanced down at the stick in her hand, as indiscreet and plain looking as before. When she swung it or moved it through the air it made a sound she couldn’t quite describe.

When she uncurled her fingers it began to drop but winked out of existence before it could fall far. She felt the heat from its constellation itch along the ridges of her spine, stretching up from the base.

“The candles,” Sakura said, pointing with her free hand. “They weren’t lit when we first came down. You said no time passed in this world when we were inside a card. Why are they lit? The mirrors too, they’re uncovered.”

Five different versions of Sakura stared back at her, reflecting her harried expression in glass.

“It feels different,” Indra murmured, keenly studying the surroundings while Asura just moved closer to Sakura. He inhaled deeply. “This is not the same world we left behind.”

“My dogs!”

Sakura cursed and then tore up the stairs calling their names. Mop, Ginger, and Chainsaw were all nearby and came running to the top of the stairs. She could hear Bagel barking from somewhere. She heard something else in addition to the dog’s bark.

She didn’t stop, but ran through the pack, leaping over chainsaw and landing further down the hall on a plush rug that she couldn’t remember seeing there before. She skid to a halt outside the door to the newspaper press room and tried the handle only to find it locked. Bagel whined from the other side.

“Back up baby, mommy’s got this,” Sakura called.

She backed up and raised her heel and then slammed it through the door with all her strength. It jarred painfully, but then the door splintered around the handle and Sakura was able to push it open the rest of the way. Bagel ran up to her, licking at her face and whining the whole time.

Sakura winced, suspecting her heel was messed up, but cared a little less when she saw the printing press. There were gears slowing down to a stop and the smell of fresh ink was thick in the air.

Asura called out her name before both he and his brother followed her into the machinery room. The printing press where the original newspaper proofs would be approved was warm and there was a paper wet with half a story in ink sitting in the folds. The air smelled less like dust and far more like ink and oil.

“What the hell is going on?” Sakura breathed into Bagel’s fur, feeling a ghost of fear in her bones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winning over a new magic card and finding out the world she is in might not be all she expected it to be. The more magic she finds the more the world will change.


	11. Bowling

Sakura toweled her hair dry, knowing she should use the blow dryer when it was as cold (as it was inside the house). She had turned the heat on, but it always took forever to actually make a difference after clicking on.

She braided it back and left the towel around her shoulders, leaving the bathroom for the kitchen. She could hear Asura making food in the microwave, but noticed Indra in a different room, reading one of her text books under a lamp. Outside the dark swallowed all the details of the forest.

“I have pot stickers!” Asura cheered as the microwave beeped. “Sakura, come eat. You need food.”

“What about the two of you?” Sakura asked, shuffling over in her slippers to pull out a chair at the table for herself. Asura had already set the table with plates and forks for two people.

“Don’t worry about us. We don’t need to eat nearly as much as you. If you’re in poor health we’ll soon follow though, so it’s important we take care of _you_.”

He dished out the potstickers with some reheated white rice and set out the dish for her before sitting across from Sakura at the table. He had a plate with half as much food that Sakura eyed critically.

“Do you even need to eat then?” she asked, picking up her fork.

Asura laughed sheepishly. “Not... really. I’m sure we could go without it, but I would miss it. Do you mind if I share your meal?”

“Of course not,” Sakura scoffed. “I can afford to feed a few friends. Guy stocked my fridge but I think I’ll go shopping for more things tomorrow.”

She had her phone charing in a station next to the table. When she leaned back to check it she saw her battery was mostly full, so she unplugged and checked her messages. Still nothing from Naruto, Karin, or Menma. She had double texted all three of them but it was like they had fallen off the face of the earth.

There was an invite to go bowling with Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji later in the week during the afternoon. With all the drama involved with the cards and the game, Sakura didn’t feel like carefree bowling, even if it was one of her favorite casual pastimes. She didn’t feel like anything else deserved her attention. She needed to get Kakashi back.

“So, the curse Anko used on Kakashi…am I strong enough to break it?” Sakura asked, suddenly looking up from her phone.

She heard Indra shift in the other room, followed by her book being deposited back on the end table. Asura looked up from his rice to frown at her.

“You’ve only been involved with the games a couple of days. True, you’ve won a number of cards already, but…it’s not that simple,” said Asura. “He was trapped in his card by another card from the black set. It would help if you had some cards from that set, not just glass and gold ones.”

“Does it matter what set my cards come from? Are some more powerful than others?” Sakura asked, feeling like she had already been told the answer. She was too tired to remember.

“It doesn’t matter,” Indra interjected.

Sakura turned to see him standing in the doorway. He was still wearing his own clothes even though she had left some of Kakashi’s old things out for him to change into. He didn’t seem convinced she was serious about keeping him ‘out’ all the time. He seemed to be waiting for when she would return him to his card form.

“Some cards are more powerful than others, but every card set has the same number of high and low cards, or powerful and weak cards,” Indra explained. “You need not concern yourself with being particular about the cards you acquire. Collect as many as you can and avoid the other duelists if you don’t plan on using them as allies.”

“I don’t know of any other duelist apart from Naruto,” Sakura admitted, glancing to Asura who was the only other person in the room who knew the person she was talking about. “And his dad doesn’t want me anywhere near him.”

“There may be as many as twenty two duelists in any game at any time, or as few as four. There will be others,” Indra said from the doorway. “You need not rush. The games can last years, after all.”

Sakura didn’t like the taste of his words when she whispered them back to herself. _Years_? She didn’t want that.

“I don’t want to have to wait years to see Kakashi again. He promised to see me graduate in the spring,” Sakura said.

“Then you can try your best in the morning when you are fed and rested. Until then…”

Indra moved to kneel down in front of her. He reached for her foot and gently took the heel she had bruised in breaking down the door. He slipped it out of its slipper with warm, reverent fingers. Sakura shivered but didn’t pull away as he ran his fingers over the bruises until they were gone. The dull throb was just as erased.

“Thanks,” she breathed, only a little embarrassed about someone as pretty as Indra holding her heel in his hand.

He glanced up at her over the bend of her knee and she felt her face color. “Of course,” he replied, standing and backing away.

Asura dropped his fork onto his plate, letting it clatter loud enough to draw her attention. “Are you interested in finding other duelists, Sakura?” he asked in a too sweet voice than what was normal for him.

“Not particularly, but maybe it would be better since I don’t want to mistakenly get into any fights with them. In the past games there were alliances, right?”

She didn’t mention anything about how all her free time was about to dry up as she returned back to school and classes. She wouldn’t be able to drop that and go running through the woods looking for more magic cards. Enforcers or no enforcers, she still had an education she needed to work on.

Kakashi had been adamant about nothing being more important that her education and whatever it was she decided she wanted out of life. At the time she had thought it silly for him to be so upset at the idea of her dating and changing to suit her partner.

_‘He just doesn’t want me to grow up!’_

But now that Kakashi was gone, she saw the sentiment for what it really was. Kakashi had honestly and selflessly loved her. He wanted to see her graduate in the spring with her silly starter degree.

‘_Whatever you want to be, just chase after it, okay?_’ he would tell her, hiding his biggest smile behind an oversized scarf.

Her heart hurt.

“An alliance would benefit you, but such things are always tenuous when one does not know the person outside of the games. The Naruto boy you were friends with would have been ideal if he were not so sheltered.” Indra backed up against the far wall to lean against it and cross his arms.

“You don’t need any allies if you keep going like we are. Have you forgotten how we’re helpers?” Asura laughed, leaning in and pointing to his face. “I’ll be better than any old ally. I’m unquestionably loyal, to boot. You don’t have to worry about me stabbing you in the back. Forget about needing the other guys. I mean, you kicked so much butt today all on your own!”

Sakura couldn’t help but feel her own smile spread. “Ah, you think so?”

“Yeah I think so!” Asura cheered. “You were fantastic. You handled the card so naturally. You didn’t panic and you never stopped thinking. You were the one who found the wand with your clever thinking.”

“You might be praising me too much,” Sakura laughed. “It was kinda anxiety inducing, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it was also fun, transforming with the card and using its magic. It was like something out of a tv show.”

“I can’t wait to see how you use all the other cards. The Stag is a steed summon, but Cygnus is like Leo in that it transforms the user, it is an armor card.” Asura smiled something softer and less excited as his voice lessened in volume. “ The Wand is a weapon card that has a good deal of power to it. I’m sure it’ll suit you beautifully once you test it out.”

“It’s not the time for that,” Indra cut in, tone curt. “Now it is better for her to rest. Don’t pester her into anything.”

Asura bristled and glared over at his brother. “I didn’t mean now, moron!”

Indra scoffed, rolling his eyes and then glaring right back. “You’re still an impatient oaf. Don’t make trouble for your duelist.”

“I wasn’t. Quit butting in. No one asked you to be here.”

“Don’t exhaust yourself, but try to understand that not everyone shares your exact mindset, brother.”

Asura groaned, lip curling. “You haven’t changed a bit since we were kids. You’re the most insufferable person to share a room with.”

When Sakura yawned both brothers broke off their glares to stare at her.

“You’re tired,” Indra commented first.

“Leave the dishes, we’ll take care of them. You need to get to sleep,” Asura added. “Using an equipment type card on yourself can exhaust a person if they’re not used to it. Do you need a hand getting up the stairs.”

Sakura chuckled, standing easily on her own. “Not quite, I’m sure I’ll be fine. You two still okay with the sleeping situation? And Indra, you’re free to use the extra clothes I set aside for you.”

Indra nodded slowly, the kitchen light making his dark brown hair seem black outside of it’s light. “If that’s what you prefer…of course.”

Asura turned pausing in steering her towards the stairs to her room, but Indra watched from the kitchen as long as he could before her body was obscured behind a banister.

* * *

When Sakura woke in the morning the house was still standing and both Chalice summons were in one piece. She didn’t do much outside, choosing instead to stay in and get a head start on homework before the break was done.

She spent the next day very much the same way. When she took the dogs on a walk she strayed enough to noticed the edges of the old almost-town were not as ruined as she first believed them to be. Like the gatehouse and the mansion, several of the houses were built back up or less in disrepair than they should have been.

She strayed a bit more from the path and stopped at the end of a path that led up to the steps of a almost intact steepled style church. The stained glass windows were shattered and when she trespassed inside she saw the colored remains on the floor. She had never seen more than the stone foundations of the church before. Being inside it made every hair on her body stand on end.

The week was nearly over with no communication from Naruto, Menma, or Karin. Sakura’s double and triple texting was getting annoying so she gave it up altogether, packed their things up, and left them to Yamato who assured her he could get it to them without a problem.

“He’s not going to let them out until this is over, is he?” Sakura asked.

Yamato paused, looking up from the backseat of his cruiser where Naruto’s overnight bag rested next to Karin’s. Sakura still held Menma’s things in her hands like a final bargaining chip. It made the old man sigh and shake his head.

“He’s a father who’s worried about his son.”

“This game could take years to end. Does he intend to keep Naruto locked up until he’s thirty? We’re all adults here. Child or not, Naruto’s a legally recognized, consenting adult.”

“And his dad is still the mayor,” Yamato pointed out. “And my boss.”

Sakura felt her lips twist in displeasure at the thoughts filling up her brain. “You’re not my ally, are you?”

Yamato, to his credit, looked stung from the accusation. She remembered when he had attended her middle school graduation with Kakashi and the entire police department, hollering and whistling with the force when it was her turn to stumble across the stage. He had seen her grow up and been a part of her life along with Guy and the others for years upon years. She thought of him as family but orders were still orders. Nothing she said would change that.

“No, I’m your _friend_ and I’m worried about your safety. Kakashi is craftier than you give him credit. Don’t endanger yourself any more than you already have for his sake. It’s not what he would have wanted.”

“How can I trust what you say when I know it’s what the Mayor wants you to say?”

“Because it’s the truth and you know it,” he sighed. “I still care about you Sakura. We all do. No one wants to see you get hurt in something that’s bigger than you could possible fathom. This ‘game’ isn’t…it’s not a child’s game and that word is the worst to use when describing it. It’s a nightmare and no one would wish it on a loved one. No one wins in the end.”

Sakura had a hard time believing that, since nothinghad gone wrong for her so far. Every card she found she ended up winning. She had both Asura and Indra on her side helping her, and she had some pretty powerful cards already in her possession.

Asura and Indra were concerned about other duelists, but apart from Naruto and Anko, Sakura hadn’t run across anyone else even though she knew there were nine others who had been identified before the start of the games. Sure, there was a chance someone could die, but so many people had survived the last game if what Guy said was true.

“Will you tell Naruto something from me if you see him?” Sakura asked.

“_Maybe_.” Iruka took the last bag from her and tossed it into the cruiser. “What is it?”

“He’s still my friend and he’s always going to be my friend no matter what happens. It doesn’t matter if-it doesn’t matter what happens, that fact won’t change. I mean, you could tell Karin and Menma this too, but I think Naruto might need to hear it more than the others.”

“I can tell him that. Nothing about the games though, those are the rules.”

“He’s still my friend. The game doesn’t change anything.”

Iruka said he appreciate her kindness, pinched her cheek, and drove off. Sakura watched his cruiser disappear down the long driveway and then headed back inside only after it twisted out of sight.

Asura was holding her phone for her as it chirped a familiar ringtone. She took it from his hand and slid to answer it, smiling her thanks before Ino’s voice interrupted.

“Did you see my texts, forehead?”

Sakura grimaced at the nickname. “I told you not to call me that, pig.”

Ino’s voice turned mocking. “Oh no, my forehead! That’s the thing I’m sensitive about, _nyhhhh_.”

Sakura couldn’t help herself but snorted a half strangled laugh that Ino heard. “Sh-shut up. You’re not a stand up comedian.”

“I could have been. Has your kinky bitch girlfriend answered any of your texts yet or are you ready to cut her loose and hang with a real queen?”

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, cutting off the beginning of a headache. “You know, it’s a real mystery how the two of you ever got along long enough to date. Don’t be mean to Karin. I said I had homework I needed to finish.”

“Ugh, boo! You’re getting ahead of yourself I just know it. Come play with us. Shikamaru is barely a person and I need someone to move his but. He gets competitive if you play. It’s just bowling. Come ooooooon.” Ino moaned pleadingly into the phone.

“I have my cousin visiting still.”

“You can leave him behind for like one day. Just ditch his ass.”

“Ino-”

“_Sakura_.”

“Fine, I’ll see. Give me a minute. I’ll text you when I know for sure.”

Through the phone there was a muffled ‘humph’ sound that Sakura recognized well. She could already picture the face her friend was making on the other end of the line. 

“Bye,” Sakura chirped before ending the call. She missed the way her first phone disconnected calls when the phone slid shut with a clack. The sounds was so much more satisfying than the simple click.

“Your friend?” Asura asked.

Sakura shrugged. “Yeah, she wanted me to join her for bowling. It’s a hassle and-”

“You should go.”

Both Sakura and Asura turned to see Indra standing in the doorway with a folded map in his hands. He had been going out on his own time to update the map with card locations in hopes of seeing a pattern.

Asura made a sound that was a cross between a snort and a choke. His face was a little twisted to match. “What?”

Indra ignored Asura but addressed Sakura. “If you send us back to our card forms we can travel with you until you need us, close and unseen by others. You should go out and spend time with your friends while you can.”

Sakura couldn’t help it, but she felt a lightness in her chest. He sounded so sincere and considerate of her needs. It wasn’t anything to do with the game or collecting cards, after all.

“Thanks, I think I’ll do that then. Let me go change real quick,” she said before turning and racing up the stairs.

Halfway to her room she sent the message and started to strip her sweats. She had a pair of distressed black skinny jeans already out and mostly clean. She picked them up off the closet floor and hopped into them before changing her shirt for something that _didn’t_ have an anime character on it.

Her hair was clean enough but she still picked up a beanie and a plaid lined denim jacket from the hallway closet before turning around to face the pair of brothers. Asura leaned against the wall with his arms crossed while Indra stood where she had left him.

“Now, how do I do this. Is it the same as the other cards?” she asked.

Indra answered for her. “Think of our cards and once they materialize in your hands we will be locked inside them until we are summoned again. You’ve practiced drawing cards and discarding them enough to know the rest.”

Sakura raised a hand to do just that. Asura wasn’t looking at her and his face was still set in a scowl. That wasn’t uncommon if he was around his brother since the two of them got on like cats and dogs, but there was something different about how his posture turned away from her.

“Is it going to be okay for the both of you? It won’t hurt, will it?” she asked.

Indra frowned at the question. “Of course not. Don’t worry about something like that.”

Sakura still hesitated. “Are you going to be okay with it, Asura?”

He looked up at the sound of his name but his eyes didn’t meet hers. “It’s fine. It’s what you want.”

Indra scowled, stepping forward. “Don’t have an attitude about it. You’re not a child and this is what is best for our duelist.”

“I’ve already met these people before. They think I’m her cousin. I don’t have to go back into the card!” Asura snapped.

“It keeps us closest to her in case of emergencies.”

“I wouldn’t leave her alone outside of the cards.”

“Oh please, don’t be a brat about these things,” Indra sighed, rubbing his eyes. “You’re such a child sometimes.” 

Sakura wrung the beanie in her hands, glancing between the two brothers. They fought so often it wasn’t unusual, but the more she listened the more familiar their insults became. The pair had a lot of past between them that would end up hindering their ability to think objectively. She didn’t want to think about their relationship so critically, but with their bickering it was undeniably a drawback. What would their fighting cost her?

“Asura,” she interjected. “You don’t have to go back into the card if you don’t want to. Stay behind and keep the dogs company. It’s fine. I doubt one outing will matter.”

His face fell. “N-no that’s not what I wanted. I should still keep you safe.”

“That’s not what your priority was,” Indra muttered darkly, eyes full of accusation. When Asura turned back to glare at his brother Indra lifted his chin in a challenge. “Know your place,” Indra hissed.

Asura turned back to Sakura and hung his head. “Fine, the card. It’s not forever. I’ll go with you in the cards if that’s what you want.” He reached for her and touched her hand. “Don’t leave me behind please.”

“Of course not,” Sakura whispered, not knowing what he meant or if his words were as simple as she first assumed.

She pulled back enough to lift her hand and when it was level with her eyes two cards were between her fingers. One was glass silver and the other sparkling gold. Both were Chalice cards. She turned her wrist and they were gone, replaced in the negative space where all her other cards were. She felt the heat of her freckles belonging to Asura and Indra and knew they were back.

Sakura made sure the dogs were settled and then locked up behind her before skipping down the porch steps. She didn’t have a license and nothing in town was really that far if she was willing to put in the leg work. The longest part was probably their driveway.

She cut across a couple main roads and then took the back streets until she was on the road that would lead her to the older part of town where there was still a penny arcade and bowling alley that didn’t make young people go broke for an afternoon of fun.

She had her hands deep in her jacket pockets, but felt her phone and wallet. She pulled out her phone to text Ino about showing up in twenty or so minutes. She got a text back calling her slow.

_‘Not like I can help it if I don’t have a car,’_ Sakura grumbled to herself.

She sent another text back then noticed the familiar Camaro rolling down to a crawl as it drew even with her before stopping. She stopped as well, turning to see Menma behind the wheel, bending over to see her out of the passenger’s side window.

“You need a lift?” he asked.

“You’re allowed to talk to me?” she countered.

His expression didn’t change and it was hard to read him when he was so much better at neutral expressions compared to his brother. “This will only take a minute. Get it, I’ll take you where you need to go and say what I need to say.”

Sakura grabbed the door and slid in. Menma pulled back onto the road at the sound of her car door slamming shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a day late and I'm so sorry for letting this slip my mind. I was sick and still recovering, so naps are all I know. Thankfully I have the day off from work.   
Enjoy this chapter where the brothers bicker and Sakura forgets all Kakashi taught her about stranger danger.


	12. The Moon

Sakura reached for the seatbelt and clicked it into place once they were on the road. Menma was the type to pull his car over and force buckle his passengers in if they chose not to, but he wasn’t the type to wait in the first place.

The interior of his car smelled like new with an undercurrent of fresh leather, no doubt thanks to the dangling car fresheners that dangled from his rearview mirror. Sakura knew for a fact that Menma changed them out every month and was particular about maintaining his ride inside and out. Whenever she had complemented him on it in the past it would make the darker twin preen with secret delight.

Sakura was familiar with the inside of Menma’s car, but what was different was the cold atmosphere that existed between her and the driver. 

“So, this won’t take long?” she asked.

“Not long enough. Naruto got your message. Thanks for the chaos.”

“You’re welcome.”

Menma cast her a sidelong glare before turning the wheel and merging with traffic. The roads weren’t busy, but that wasn’t unusual. Delphinium was that sort of town.

“I’m guessing your dad told you something if you’re being the grim messenger, or did you always know.” Sakura watched his face for any shift in his expression, disappointed to see little. Menma had always been the harder one to read out of the two twins. Naruto was an open book, all light and good cheer while Menma was the anchor.

“I had a general idea from the beginning because of Naruto. _You_ were a surprise,” he said.

“And?”

“And what?” he asked. 

Sakura felt heat in her throat and had to swallow it to keep from screaming. “And what did he say about me that made it like this between us? I know you’re reading my texts at least, but you don’t answer them even though I know you can. Maybe Naruto and Karin had their phones confiscated or whatever, but your dad trusts _you_ enough to let you out of the foxhole. So what was it? I thought you were my friend.”

She wasn’t proud of how her voice wobbled at the end but it was the first break in his expression she had seen during the whole car ride.

“You are my friend. You’re just not my alley,” he answered.

“Do you even understand what you’re saying to me?” Sakura asked, hearing her voice raise. “I don’t want to be on opposite sides of this stupid game. I’m just doing what I can to get Kakashi back. Your dad tell you that? Did he tell you what happened to Kakashi? I don’t want victory, I just want him to come home. I’m not an enemy, so don’t treat me like one.”

Menma’s expression flickered and she saw something like color bloom under his skin as he narrowed his eyes. “Shit, Sakura. It’s not so black and white. Naruto can’t get caught up in these games. He’s an idiot, you know that. I’ve been watching out for him his whole life. He’s the worst kind of idiot, the kind that thinks he’s invincible. He’d be all over this stupid contest and it would cost him his life.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen.” 

Menma slowed down and stopped for a light. With the car stopped he turned to face her. “That’s not your job. You’re not his keeper.”

“Neither are you. Naruto is his own person. It’s not fair how your dad treats you like his shadow and you know it.”

He scoffed, accelerating as the light turned green. “This is a little more serious than being forced to uber him all over during our Freshman year.”

Sakura could see that the bowling alley was coming up on their left. It wouldn’t be long before Menma pulled into the parking lot and the ride ended. She didn’t have a lot of time left to make her point, but she felt like she couldn’t say everything she wanted before then.

“Naruto deserves the right to make his own choices. He’s his own adult and so are you. And…you’re still both my precious friends. Don’t think I wouldn’t still believe that even after all this shit happened. I love you guys.”

Menma saw the turn and kept driving, past her stop.

“Hey, that’s my stop. Menma, you need to turn around. Menma!”

“Sh-shut up, just….” He gasped, swallowing and blinking rapidly as he found a turn off. His face was splotchy and red in places. “Shit, I missed it, I just…”

Sakura kept her comments to herself as they turned around and the bowling alley came back into view. He took the right hand turn into the parking lot but parked in the very back, where the lines had all faded and the asphalt cracked. Aside from them and a handful of other cars, there was no one else there.

Sakura reached for the door but Menma stretched over her and pulled her door shut, stopping her. She head the creak of leather but couldn’t tell if it was from the seats or his jacket. He was stretched over her and the smell of his soap was in her nose.

“Wait,” he said. “Just…”

Sakura let go of the door and folded her hands in her lap, but Menma didn’t let go of the door and he didn’t pull his arm back. He just buried his face into his shoulder and avoided her.

“Give us time. I’ll convince the old man somehow. He said that anyone in the game couldn’t be trusted, and that you’d try and betray us. S-supposedly, the cards warp people and drive them crazy sometimes. ”

Sakura waited, not knowing if there was more he needed to get out, but the silence stretched and his arm was still spread out in front of her, pinning her to her seat.

“Is that what you believe?”

“I don’t believe it means _you_. Just…it’s still dangerous.”

Sakura was willing to take what she could get. Maybe it would be impossible to win everyone over, but what mattered was that Menma believed her. Naruto would too. Karin as well.

“You’re my friends. I’d protect you, no matter what,” she whispered.

“I know.”

Menma pulled back but kept his head down. “I’ll do what I can at home. Don’t hold your breath though. My old man is the Mayor for a reason. Not a lot of people can say no to him once he starts talking.”

“Thank you, Menma. For the ride too.”

Sakura unbuckled and slid out. She turned to shut the door but Menma was bent and leaning across her seat to stare out at her. She hesitated when she saw how unfiltered his expressions finally were.

“Sakura?” She paused to let him know she was listening. His eyes were clear as they met hers, a deep unfiltered blue just like Naruto’s. “I’m your friend too. That won’t change.”

When he drove off Sakura felt heavy in her heart, knowing that even if some things were clarified, others were just as muddled. When Menma said about the cards driving a person mad…did he mean in the sense that power corrupts, or was there something more than that. Was it something that might have explained Anko’s aggressions?

Sakura stuffed her hands back into her pockets and turned to cross the parking lot. The alley smelled like shoe disinfectant and stale popcorn, a nauseating combination if not for the nostalgia it came with.

Loud noises from the furthest lanes let her know that a group had already set up and were in the thick of a game. On the other side of the room groups lingered around the empty lanes, waiting to start. Shikamaru was at the counter exchanging money for shoes when she spotted him.

“You’re early,” he grunted when he took a pair of shoes along with a voucher to redeem for his own walking boots stored behind the counter. “Ino went for snacks.”

“That doesn’t sound like Ino. She stressed about something?” Sakura laughed, holding up a loyalty card with her shoe size on it. The man behind the counter exchanged her shoes and handed back her card with a new stamp along the edge. She had two more to go before a free shoe rental.

“I always forget to use mine,” Shikamaru sighed, staring at her loyalty card. “Ino just went to get Choji and us some things. He’s reserving our lane and its her turn to buy snacks.”

“It’s pretty empty, I think you’d be fine without having to hold anything,” Sakura answered, walking with him back to the opposite end.

“It’s our lucky lane.”

Sakura grinned but didn’t laugh. She knew the trio were a tight knit bunch thanks to their dads. They had a myriad of secret inside jokes and rituals Sakura was still learning. She was flattered to be trusted with all the secrets they had shared so far, and their lucky lane was just another one to add to her growing collection.

“What makes it lucky?” she asked.

“It’s warped, so it’s harder to get gutter balls. We all bowl fantastic.”

“Oh, you don’t want to play in an average lane and challenge yourself?” she teased.

“We’re here for a good time, not a long time, Sakura,” Shikamaru dully commented with the most monotone expression. It was impossible for her not to snicker as they came up alongside Choji.

Choji looked up at their approach and smiled at Sakura’s muffled chuckles. “Hey there, Sakura. We’re glad you could make it. Shikamaru keeping you in stitches?”

“Always,” Sakura answered with a smile.

Choji warmed at her expression. “It’s really nice to see you. How are you doing? You seemed a little off at the bonfire. Is everything good at home?”

Shikamaru flinched and then tried to glare at Choji without Sakura seeing, but it was a futile effort. Sakura caught it all. While it was true Shikamaru was likely the most observant out of all three of them, Choji was the most direct about things. If Shikamaru suspected something was up, he wouldn’t necessarily address it. He was more of a ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ sort of guy, while Choji was his own man.

Sakura wanted to paste on a smile and lie about Kakashi, but it felt wrong when Choji looked up at her so honestly. She dropped her shoes onto the ground in front of a chair and sank into it, sagging.

“I guess so. It’s a little nerve wrecking because Kakashi is gone and I don’t know where he is or when he’ll be back. Police business stuff I guess. We were supposed to go away.”

“You’re at home alone? Do you have someone with you?” Choji asked, radiating pure concern for her wellbeing. He was a gentle giant if ever there was such a thing and she couldn’t keep up her fake smiles for long. She knew he honestly cared about her, and that was just the sort of person he was.

“I have my cousin-well, second cousin, staying over and we’re keeping an eye on each other. Once Kakashi comes home I’m sure Asura will head back. You might have seen him at the bonfire.”

“It’s good to hear he’s still around. It can get lonely fast when you don’t know where your family is or when they’re coming home.” Choji offered her a 1000 watt smile. “Hopefully a game will do the trick and keep your mind off of your worries for a few hours. Are you prepared to lose?”

Sakura snorted through what had almost been a laugh. “Me? Are you so sure of yourself?”

Choji’s smile was still as bright as ever. “Ino and I are a force to be reckoned with and I know she’ll be all the more fired up if she’s fighting you. Plus, you have Shikamaru on your team.”

Sakura turned in her seat and glared at the Nara boy who was still lacing up his shoes. “Are you going to suck at this too because you’re too lazy?”

“It’s a drag, Sakura,” Shikamaru whined.

She glared in reply. “I’m not letting you make me into a loser, Shikamaru Nara. You’re going to put in some effort or so help me.” She snapped her fingers in the air between them and his face fell in a look of pure exasperation.

“I still think between four people seven orders of nachos is unreasonable,” Ino interjected with a pair of trays, both heavily loaded with chips and nachos.

Choji clapped in good cheer. “I had a coupon, I got a basket free for each two. Plus, Sakura is here. She’ll help.”

Ino sighed and then set the tray’s down before sliding into Sakura’s lap and draping herself sideways. “See what I have to put up with when you’re not around. Don’t blow me off so often.”

“I’m here now,” Sakura snapped, twisting her finger in under Ino’s arm and making her squirm. Sakura knew all her friend’s most ticklish spots. “Don’t complain about your friends. You’ll need someone to cry to when I wipe the floor with your butt.”

Ino gasped dramatically and pushed off Sakura to start their game from the control panel. Sakura grabbed a basket of chips to hand off to Shikamaru before grabbing one for herself. The chips didn’t last long, but they needed to grab drinks halfway through, which slowed down their progress. The game was tight all the way through, with Shikamaru putting up an impressive amount of effort to keep up with Chijo. Ino was competitive, but Sakura’s aim was better. Towards the end it didn’t look like it would make much of a difference because Choji was still heads and shoulders above them all in skill.

“He’s a mad genius,” Sakura cheered in a fake British accent that had Shikamaru snickering after Choji got another strike.

“Looks like we’re going to lose. You still feel like punishing me?” Shikamaru asked as her name came up.

She kicked at his feet without meaning it and got up to take her ball from the rack. “I’ll _spare_ you this time since you did try your best. Don’t slack off until the end. I want to save some face at least. Even as losers we’re not horribly behind.”

Ino cupped her hands around her pastel pink lips and started to boo to throw Sakura off.

Stepping up to the line with a bowling ball weighted just the right amount Sakura positioned herself and then hesitated.

There was a tingle all over her body. Her freckles itched. No one else seemed to notice but she couldn’t ignore it.

There was a card somewhere nearby.

Sakura turned with the ball still in her hands and scanned the length of the alley. There was nothing amiss, noting out of focus. Ino was hollering from her chair and Choji was trying to calm her down, but Shikamaru was watching her too keenly not to notice something was bothering her.

“Take the shot!” Ino hollered.

The lights overhead flickered and switched over to blacklight. The neon colors, once invisible on the walls and lane markers, stood out as vibrant as ever. It was barely afternoon but the alleyway turned into something more like midnight with fake shooting stars and asteroids standing out in neon purple and pink.

“It’s a special?” Choji guessed, shrugging as he glanced around for a person to explain the shift.

The music was different too. It hadn’t stopped, but the language wasn’t English anymore. Instead of an American pop star singing about love in the 80’s, the track scratched into something that sounded like it came straight out of an old anime opening.

Sakura dropped her ball back onto the rack, still watching the room with her shoulders tense. Shikamaru called her name but she didn’t turn his way.

Someone screamed at the end of the alley as something dark creeped out from behind the downed pins. The machine came down to sweep them away but stalled as thick blackness expanded like a cloud. The closest people started to run, but like dead birds they fell from their feet and littered the floor as more of that black stuff spread. 

“What the hell?” Ino screamed, reacting first.

“Shikamaru, you seeing this?” Choji added.

“It’s not supposed to happen here,” Sakura gasped, seeing the glimmer of a card from deep in the cloud. It sparkled with a black edge.

Her first black card sighting.

Before she could stop to consider the consequences she pulled from the air a card that wasn’t a card by the time it materialized. She wrapped her hand around the strong wooden shaft of the glass card wand, feeling the weight at the end as she turned it over her hand. There was something there that hadn’t been there before.

She chanced a glance and saw that it wasn’t the same plain stick she had picked up. It had grown smooth and polished, turning white as birch with a glittering Star shaped icon at the end, white and brighter than the wooden shaft. When she turned it a stream of long lasting light followed in its wake, like a smear that forgot to fade fast enough to be missed.

The nebulous dark approached and Sakura moved before she knew what she wanted. She struck the base of the staff down and it expelled a breath of air that buffeted everything around her, keeping the blackness back.

“Sakura!”

Shikamaru’s hand was around her elbow and she turned at the contact. Ino and Choji were almost at the exit, looking back to make sure she was following. Shikamaru’s face was pale and she couldn’t remember a time she had seen his eyes so wide.

“I’ve got this, go!” Sakura hollered as the winds picked up, howling louder around them. The dark clouds rolling free were screaming with their own stray energies.

Shikamaru cursed and tugged harder on her arm, almost making her stumble.

“Just leave it and run. It’s not worth it. Come on!” Shikamaru snapped, speaking faster than she was used to hearing.

Sakura shook her elbow and removed one hand from the staff to push him back, away from the darkness and towards the door. He stumbled, having not braced for the force of her shove. She glared at his shocked expression, willing him to listen. He could be stubborn when he wanted to be, but so could she.

“Go!” she screamed, voice dropping in pitch as she pulled up something deep inside her that almost tasted like authority on her tongue. “I know what I’m doing,” she lied.

“_Sakura_!”

Ino screamed from the door. Choji met Sakura’s eyes and nodded, understanding what his friends couldn’t. Choji picked Ino up off her feet and carried her like the twig she was outside. The door started to swing shut behind him but Shikamaru caught it as he scrambled free. On the threshold he turned and glanced back, eyes still impossibly wide.

Sakura turned back to the darkness and angled the force of her winds into something sharper, cutting a narrow path straight through to the card at the center. Like Moses parting the red seas, she split the darkness and walked between its two halves to grasp the darkling Moon card in her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Menma isn't all that bad and Bowling is always an exciting way to hang with friends. (Recently joined a bowling league with work friends and let me tell you now I suuuuuck.)


	13. The Moon Part 2

Sakura turned back to the darkness and angled the force of her winds into something sharper, cutting a narrow path straight through to the card at the center. Like Moses parting the red seas, she split the darkness and walked between its two halves to grasp the darkling Moon card in her hand.

* * *

Asura and Indra carried her through it. She had expected there to be a straightforward challenge or riddle waiting for her once she slipped into the world of the card’s own making, but all she saw was darkness, all she felt was numbing cold, all she heard was the static of silence.

She roused herself and saw that both brothers looked battered and bruised. She remembered a beat later just how long they had all been struggling inside the card.

“I just need to find it. It’s there, somewhere…” she gasped to herself, fighting for each breath. When she coughed her lungs burned.

Indra crouched beside her and ran a hand down her back, spreading warmth into her lungs that broke up some of the smoke. It came smelling out of her mouth and she thanked him for that. He didn’t pull away. The moment he did more smoke would just undo his work.

“This is impossible,” Asura complain, cutting at the smoke and screaming when it fell apart without protest, only to reform behind his blade. “We can’t burn it or cut this stuff away. The wand only works for short range…it’s a true black card, isn’t it?”

“Is that supposed to mean something?” Sakura asked. She held herself and shivered as her edges seemed to burn from the cold. It was an odd sensation she didn’t want to experience any longer than she had to.

“Black cards are especially vicious. While they aren’t always difficult or challenging, they are always painful. They have an appetite for torture,” Indra explained.

“I’m not in any pain though,” Sakura said.

Both brothers stared at her hard and a beat later Sakura remembered her body was in all sorts of distress. Her brain was barely aware of where she was anymore. Her toes and fingers stung with cold and her lungs were quickly filling up the smoke that would choke her out.

Asura dropped back, landing beside Sakura and raising his sword as his stance turned tense. “Watch it, I saw something.”

“I felt it too,” Indra begrudgingly admitted.

“What?” Sakura blinked and breathed in, trying to think straight.

“Someone else entered the card. We’re not alone in here anymore,” Asura explained.

“Another duelist, Indra explained.

Sakura’s heart skipped a beat. “Naruto?”

Asura shifted the weight of his body from one leg to the other, readying his form for a strike. Even from behind his shoulder, Sakura could sense his keen determination. “Don’t think so, but there’s no way to know without checking it out at the source. Stay behind me Sakura, we don’t know how dangerous they might be.”

“All duelists are dangerous,” Indra added, sliding his hand up along her back, between her shoulder blades. His hand was warm, seeping heat into her lungs to burn up the gunk the smoke left behind. Sakura shivered in relief.

“We need to find the card before they do,” she said. “We can keep looking.”

Indra moved his hand from her back to her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Do you think,” he asked in a whisper by her ear, “you could use the wand to dowse for it?”

“It’s…not water. I’ve never done that before. I’m not sure if I could do something like that.” Sakura frowned at the odd suggestion. She hadn’t used her wand for anything so practical. It was mostly wind spells and basic elemental manipulation.

“Try it,” he urged her.

Sakura summoned the wand again, feeling a little more drained than the first time she had held it in her hands. When she turned it over her knuckles and spun it back into her palm the shaft was still birch white, but the star icon at the head was smaller and weighed less. “What do I do now?” she asked.

“Hold it in your open palm and go where it starts to turn. Think about the moon card and the sensation of finding it. What will that be like?” Indra said.

Sakura did as he instructed, holding the staff in her palm and allowing it to tilt on way and then the other before it started to lean on its own to one side. She felt a thumbs of something running up her arm and she turned into it, feeling it grow stronger the closer she got to it.

Behind her Asura made a delighted sound as he turned to follow close behind. She didn’t open her eyes to see, but she knew he still had his sword out and would be watching their surroundings for threats.

The world around her was cold, but there was still some heat to be found, and her wand was leading her straight to its source.

“Sakura!” Asura exclaimed.

Sakura opened her eyes and grabbed the base of her wand, straightening in surprise. A number of broken stones snapped like crumbling pillars leaned against each other in a mess. The Darkness rolled over the stones in waves, but in the midst of the ruins a light twinkled through the black. Sakura ducked under an archway and reached as far as she could go before having to squeeze under another pass to reach the center.

The **Moon** card rotated on its own, suspending in mid air by nothing. Sakura was cold and shivering, but it was her lungs that made her dizzy. She didn’t hesitate. As soon as she could, she grabbed the card and pulled it to her chest, crossing her arms over it and holding her breath as the world came undone.

Sakura felt the burn as a new cluster of freckles in the shape of a crescent moon burned on her ribs, breaking up the numbing cold that still clung to her from the interior of the world.

The black card was between her fingers, lightly dangling before it was gone, along with her wand. She kept Asura and Indra out though.

Indra’s hand went to her back, finding the spot between her shoulder blades that was best for him to touch when he worked on her lungs. He hovered close and she felt it when hie body shifted in a new direction.

“Stay behind us Sakura,” Asura said, sword ready anew.

When she turned she saw the limp bodies of those caught in the Moon’s cloud still knocked out cold, but she also saw a solitary figure in the midst of them all, shaking off what looked like soot from his hands. He was a new face Sakura wasn’t used to or familiar with.

The boy must have felt them staring, since he picked his head up and looked right their way, gaze unwavering.

“Two retainers, I should have guessed as much,” the boy scoffed, turning around enough that Sakura could see the rest of him.

He wasn’t a boy, just shorter than most and a little baby faced all over. His hair was the color of sea foam in the neon lights. When he looked at her his eyes were like lights, bright and blue and terrifying in their own way. He was thrumming with magic, she realized a moment later.

“Who are you?” Sakura asked, read to summon her wand from the card in her hand.

The boy looked her over once and then raised both palms nonchalantly, seemingly indifferent to her concern. Maybe it was because she had been the one to win the card over. Maybe it was because she had two tall bodyguards with weapons looking ready to throw their hands into murder. Even Indra had a knife ready.

“That’s not necessary,” he said, gesturing to their weapons. “I’m just another duelist looking to get ahead in the world. My name is Yagura. No harm meant.”

“You’re another duelist, from how long have you known?” Sakura asked, unable to belay her curiosity.

He stared at her and then blinked his eyes slowly, seemingly digesting her question. “Since birth, but you mean how long have I been playing? I don’t know, how long have you been playing mysterious Ms. Duelist?”

She flushed but didn’t stop Asura from backing up closer to her when she moved forward to answer. “My name is Sakura. I’ve been aware of my marks only for this past week.”

“That sounds almost right. I’ve had an itch with mine about fifteen days now. Do you know who it was that started the games again?”

“Started the games?”

“A resurgent,” Yagura explained with a growing sly sort of smile. “Someone from the last games entering the games again jump started this whole nonsense. I wasn’t prepared like I should have been.”

“I…wasn’t prepared at all.”

Sakura glanced to the side at Asura and then at Indra. Both had been marks she had before the games began, familiar freckles across her skin. Still, she hadn’t know who or what they were, much less what the games represented, until Kakashi went missing.

Kakashi had never told her anything, but had instead sealed her primary mark. Everyone who mentioned it said the same thing too: Kakashi never wanted her to be a part of the games. It was the same story with Naruto and his dad.

“You don’t seem to be hurting for it. How many marks do you have? Three? Four?” His eyes were bright under the black light, watching her.

“You don’t think it’s rude to ask a lady before you share your own numbers?”

Sakura scoffed, knowing enough to know that her sharing such information wouldn’t benefit anyone but him. He was sniffing her out to see if she was worth forging an alliance with.He was barking up the wrong tree if he thought she’d agree to anything with a person she didn’t know.

“Fair enough, but don’t fault a guy for trying. I’ve only run into one other duelist and he wasn’t worth sticking around for. You do know someone killed one of the other duelists, right?”

“You know that for a fact?” Sakura asked, brow raised.

“It’s all over the news, how the kid is missing. The other bastard killed him for his cards and they’ve not been able to find the body since.”

“That’s terrible,” Sakura remarked, voice monotone to betray nothing. She wasn’t ready to believe his words just yet. For all she knew he was just trying to scare her into an alliance.

“You haven’t heard the stories of what it was like in the 50’s? It was so much easier to hide a body then.”

“You have a point to all this rambling or are we supposed to put up with this much longer?” Asura interjected, sword still out.

Yagura laughed like he though the threat was more cute than frightening. “You can put that away before you hurt yourself. I’m not planning on sticking around. There are other places I can go. I just wanted to see if you knew something, Sakura.”

“She doesn’t. You can move on, loser,” Asura answered before Sakura could. Indra snorted under his breath with a smile too sly to be seen unless a person searched for it.

Anyone else might have been offended, but Yagura looked bored with their remarks, rolling his eyes back up at the stained neon sky full of fake stars. They came in all colors of the rainbow, but in the section directly over his head the blue ones stood out the most.

“Sure, sure. I’m sure I’ll see you around again if you’re thinking of sticking to this town. Its a super popular spot I hear.” He seemed to think to himself before finding her with his electric eyes again. This time they weren’t the same staggering blue as before, but vibrant pink. The magic was gone from them, but he was still stunning in his own way. “Maybe not this week, it’s a waning moon, after all, but we will see each other again, Sakura. Maybe we should meet as friends. I promise I don’t bite, so think it over.” 

He didn’t disappear in a flash of light or cloud of smoke, but stuffed his hands into the pockets of his long coat and walked out the exit at his leisure.

“Well that could have gone worse,” Sakura sighed, finding a seat to sink into. There was a an itch on her ribs and she ran a hand up under her shirt over the ridges, feeling the bumps of her new freckles under the pads of her fingers.She was sore all over and still a bit cold, even though the alley was warm enough.

“It passes without bloodshed,” Indra said, kneeling beside her and laying a hand over the bump her fingers made beneath her shirt. “Are you in pain?”

Sakura swallowed and forced herself to look away, to a far wall speared with neon pain that didn’t spell anything anymore. “I’m fine. It’s just new and sore. That-that’ll pass.” She didn’t say anything about the heat his wide hands brought, or the tingles they send up and down her spine.

“We’re not supposed to be here,” Asura interrupted, glaring at his brother with new energy. “We should go before those others come back.”

Sakura remembered Shikamaru at the end, grabbing for her with eyes wider than she had ever seen. Ino and Choji too, they would be wondering where she was and what happened to her.

There were still stunned bodies laying unconscious on the floor across they bowling alley carpets, so she could join them and pretend to wake up when they did…but Shikamaru would know better. There was no way he would have left her if he didn’t think she had some knowledge about events he didn’t. At least Choji might have left her alone about it if he had been the only witness.

“This is going to be fun to try and explain,” she groaned, rubbing her face.

“We could…stay out if that’s what you wanted,” Asura offered, sounding hopeful.

Outside Sakura could hear the far off shrill of fire engines. They weren’t close, but she could already guess where they were heading.

“No, it’s better for you to go back now. I’ll talk with you again when I get home.”

She held up her hand and when she turned her wrist and a pair of cards were between her fingers. She let go and they were gone. She felt the heat from both of them in her freckles. The Moon freckles still stung too, but only when she inhaled or exhaled too deep. All over her body there were weights from other worlds pulling at her.

The sires ran out louder and a few bodies on the floor started to twitch as the people began to come around. It wouldn’t be long before the still was interrupted. She sat a moment longer, wishing to extend that heart beat for hours or until she wasn’t so sore. When she opened her eyes again she found a spot on the carpet and crawled over to sprawl her body across the floor, closing her eyes and pretending to be just another victim.

She played her role a little too well.

Someone carried her out and deposited her in the bed of a stretcher, shouting about how she was one of the only ones not waking up. She had to force herself to move and ‘wake up’ for them before they would let her go and leave her alone.

Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino weren’t far behind.

“You guys look great,” Sakura yawned, too sleepy for having only been on the floor pretending for five minutes.

“It looks like we’re not finishing our game, so would anyone be opposed to some Pit BBQ? My treat of course,” Choji interjected. 

No one protested and half an hour later they each had a tray of frozen meats they could lay over the grate resting above their table’s fireplace. It was generous of Choji to offer, but not rare, as he was always the one insisting they all go out to eat in the first place.

Sakura watched her meat sizzle and turn from long, thin, and pink, to short, wrinkled, and brown. She grabbed at the meat with her chopsticks, but Shikamaru tugged on her meat before she could deposit it on her plate. She glare at him, twisting her chopsticks to free her meat from his hold.

“You don’t think that’s enough?” he asked.

Sakura stuffed her mouth with more meat than she should have been able to chew at once, giving Shikamaru a look that was of utter boredom and indifference. If only she didn’t look like a squirrel hoarding for winter.

“Sakura,” he continued.

She mumbled something out around the food in her mouth but no one understood, so she chewed, drank, and swallowed. “I said, I’m good with things. What?”

“You’re a player in the games,” Shikamaru hissed, leaning in.

Sakura swallowed what was left in her mouth. “What? You know about that stuff? Why did you try to drag me out then?”

“Because it’s dangerous and nothing the game has to offer you could be worth it.” Choji offered her some of his meat, a gesture that caused Ino to gape. “And you’re too nice to be ruined by something so cruel,” Choji said.

Sakura took the meat and slowly bit into it, savoring it. “How much do you all know?” she asked once she had finished with the morsel.

Ino shook her head and made a cutting motion around her neck. “Next to nothing. Never was interested until I heard you were involved. Sorry, I’ll do some homework, I promise.”

Choji offered her a sympathetic smile. “I only know a little bit more than that. My old man was a part of the games and he only recently told me about them. We’re supposed to be looking out for the duelists.”

Sakura turned her eyes towards Shikamaru last. He scowled at her gaze and stabbed at another piece of meat from her pile. “I know,” he grumbled.

Choji elbowed Shikamaru and the shorter boy glared back at his friend before facing Sakura again to add more. “My old man was sorta involved, but Asuma told me about _you_.”

“The Nara also chronicle the games,” Choji added. He ignored the way Shikamaru glared at the side of his face, upset about his secret being spilled. “You can go to them if you have questions.”

“That’s not a given, we’re only helping the Stag victor.” When Sakura stared at him too long Shikamaru flushed and explained. “You know how the cards are different right? There is one my dad bonded with in the last games and it’s the one we’re supposed to follow. So yeah, you’re our friend so I’m not going to not help you…but…What are you doing?”

Ino almost choked on her cackle, making Sakura freeze with her shirt halfway lifted up off the freckles just above her hip. Choji still smiled, but even his cheeks were pink. A second later Sakura realized why and sat back down, going more red in the face than any of them.

“It’s the mark,” she muttered, grabbing her water cup to hide most of her face in.

“Yeah, they’re nice, but you don’t have to show us here in a booth like that,” Ino laughed, sounding far too delighted with the discomfort at the table.

“You could just summon the card,” Shikamaru muttered, still glancing away, face colored red. “That’s…that should be proof enough.”

Shikamaru often made her feel like a dull crayon in a brand new box just because of how intelligent he could be when he cared. His suggestion to just summon the cards directly made her feel worse than a crumbled crayon.

“Do you know how to do that?” Choji asked, trying to sound helpful. Beside him Ino watched on, chewing on the fat of a bite of meat with a knowing look in her eyes.

In the back of the restaurant in a booth big enough for all of them, there was no one else watching. A waitress busied herself at a table with a family before moving on

Sakura raised her hand and then turned it over, grabbing a number of colored cards between her fingers. She turned her fingers to the side and the cards melted into one she flipped around to reveal the image of a majestic stage with winding antlers reaching for the stars in the sky behind him. The glass edges glistened in the afternoon sunlight.

Shikamaru went still.

“Sakura,” he said her name slowly. “When did you get that?”

“The bonfire at Kiba’s, I found him in the woods when I wandered off,” she explained before dropping the card only for it to disappear. “But that means you’ll help me, right?”

Shikamaru leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands, running his finders through his hair, nails dragging along his scalp’s shape. Ino just cackled from her end of the table.

“Isn’t this great, Shika?” she purred in a teasing tone. “You were so worried about who it would be but it turns out to go to _Sakura_. And here you thought it would end up in the hands of a serial killer. What’s wrong?”

“I-I thought I’d have more time before this. My old man is going to be in so much hot water when the mayor finds out.”

“And you care what Naruto’s dad has to say?” Choji asked.

Shikamaru snorted. “The guy can take a long walk off a short pier for all I care. This is all just so… troublesome. Ugh.” He glanced up at Sakura through his lashes. “You’re going to never stop asking us questions, are you?”

“You would rather it be the duelist that’s going around killing people?” Sakura asked, gabling on her words provoking a reaction she could manipulate for more information.

Shikamaru grumbled, cooking more of his meat, poking at it like that would make anything go faster. “You know more than it seems. I guess Minato is doing a worse job than we all assumed. Naruto isn’t even a part of the games and already there are people killing each other and collecting cards in mass. What do you have now, five, six?”

She didn’t correct him, feeling like it was a better idea to keep it a fact that she had won or been gifted eight cards already.“Something like that. The other duelists, what do you know of them?”

“Enough, I’ll send you an email with more information later. It’s not like I know all this stuff off the top of my head. The games just started. I thought I would have more time to learn these things,” Shikamaru grumbled.

“How long has it been for you, Sakura?” Ino asked.

Sakura answered, recounting for the table the story about how she had gone out to find Kakashi, only to stumble upon the body of one of the game’s beasts. She spoke of Anko and the betrayal, about how Guy helped her and the first time she summoned a card after breaking Kakashi’s seal.

The rest of the table listened, finishing off their meat as she told the rest of her story, about the ruins in the forest repairing themselves and the last mysterious encounter with the Duelist Yagura. There were a few details she left out, like winning over Cygnus and Leo, as well as the fact that both Asura and Indra were preloaded cards from before the start of the game. She still didn’t know what that meant and she wasn’t willing to share that fact with anyone else until she understood more.

The trio listened attentively, even Ino. She kept her crude and teasing jokes to a minimum as they finished off the rest of the meat. By the time they were done it was nearly the dinner rush and no longer safe to talk out loud without being overheard by someone.

“We have classes on Monday. Will you be okay?” Ino asked.

Sakura rolled her shoulders.“I should be, if I can just get there on time. Kakashi usually drives me but I can bike.”

“I’ll pick you up, troublesome woman,” Shikamaru complained.

Sakura smiled and thanked him but he didn’t ay anything more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rough unedited chapter (sorry for all the silly mistakes)!
> 
> Now the dream team is assembling! Who better to have in your corner than the InoShikaCho trio. Shikamaru is a special help, as his family has been tied up in these games for generations.


	14. Memory

School worked out. For the next week, regardless of if it had anything to do with the moon waning or waxing, Sakura couldn’t sense any new cards and the enforcers hung back from stalking the property lines.

A pair of weeks passed without incident, but only a pair.

Naruto and Karin were still ghosts to her inbox even if she saw them across campus once classes started up again. Menma was just as distant, but it was a little more expected since he attended trade school and rarely crossed her path apart from explicit design. Sakura wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel when it came to the trio. She wanted to be a faithful, faultless friend throughout it all, but her heart was starting to rest heavy in her chest. They had been so close. It was unsettling to not have them be that close again.

At least she had Indra and Asura.

When she got home, Asura was at the door, waiting for her with half her pack. It was his turn to wait at home with the dogs while Indra returned to his card and went with Sakura to school. The pair of brothers took turns going with her, as neither would allow her to go anywhere alone, while at the same time respecting her need to be alone at times and have someone watch her house.

“A long day?” he guessed when he saw her face.

Sakura mumbled something under her breath and toed off her shoes, not caring for how Mop stuffed his face into them, sniffing them like mad even though they were the same shoes he got excited about every time she came home. She paused when she smelled something new. “Are those, brownies?”

He smiled at her and nodded. “I tried baking. It’s not half bad. Want some?”

Sakura pulled Indra’s card out of the air and summoned him in a split second. Asura’s smile fell into something more neutral at the sight of his brother while Indra continued to pretend Asura wasn’t there at all.

“Brownies sound like a good idea,” she said around a yawn.

Her backpack was still half on and bulging with materials. She didn’t know how the other girls in her class got away with a single purse for all their classes. Sakura felt like a pack mule most days.

“I’ll cut you a slice. It should still be warm since I just pulled it out of the oven,” Asura said before turning to head off into the kitchen ahead of her.

Indra watched him leave and caught Sakura by the elbow before she could follow. “You’re tired,” he said.

“I’m always tired,” she admitted with a chuckle.

“More so than usual. Were the dreams keeping you up again?” When she didn’t respond right away he continued. “I heard you getting sick this morning. That’s the third time this week. It’s almost every other night.”

“It’s nothing.”

She tried to tug free but he didn’t let her go. She looked back and pouted.

“There’s not a lot I can do for you, but your health is something I should be preserving. Please, let me look at you next time. Even if it’s caused by another card I can see about maybe lessening the nausea.”

Sakura watched his face, seeing how it softened for her in honesty. She was so used to his cold inference around Asura, she forgot that when his attention was only on her he could be so kind. It was part of the reason she hadn’t wanted to bother him with the nightmares that made her sick.

The third eye that Kakashi had made a seal against so many years ago wasn’t something she wanted to hinder. It showed her useless sights sometimes, but other times the things she saw were invaluable. If it helped her in the games, she was willing to put up with a little nausea. 

“I’ll let you know if it’s anything that’s too bad.”

“Really?” He didn’t sound like he believed her.

She offered him her best smile and he let her go almost on a reaction.

Bagel whined at her legs and the darted into the kitchen to beg for food he knew he wouldn’t get.Sakura followed him in and saw a pair of plates already had brownies cut and served. Asura had pulled out a small tub of ice cream that he held up with a questioning expression. Sakura shook her head no and took her brownie as-is while he helped himself to a scoop or two of vanilla. Asura joined them in the kitchen, pouring for himself a tea out of the Kurig that hadn’t made coffee since Kakashi.

Sakura watched Indra work the device with the ready made cups, realizing they were almost out of the tea cups but had way too many coffee ones. That never happened.

“How much longer until I can get Kakashi back?” she asked without looking away from the kitchen appliance.

“It’s…hard to say. He’s cursed so it’s different from how Indra and I are trapped in cards. He’s been cursed and you need to overpower the strength of that woman’s curse.”

“I know that,” Sakura sighed. “But when will that happen? When I get two more cards, or three more, or does it need to be even more than that?”

Asura frowned, sitting down across from her with his plate of brownies. “It’s hard to say until we see it for ourselves. Such things haven’t been done before. At least, _I’ve_ never seen it happen before.”

“The **Ophiuchus** card is a formidable one,” Indra interrupted, keeping his back to them turned as he watched his tea being prepared. “Her control over it is nothing to laugh at either if she can use so much of its power. Lesser wielders have been able to cast petrification, but she managed greater feats.”

“So I just need to keep playing the game,” she sighed, stabbing into her brownie.

A huge chunk came off on her fork she stuffed into her mouth, not caring if it bulged her cheeks or stained her lips. Asura hid his laughter behind his hand. Indra watched over his shoulder but she couldn’t see his expression to figure it out.

“We’ll be with you through it all, don’t worry,” said Asura.

Sakura cut off another chunk of her brownie with the side of her fork but didn’t eat it. “It was Halloween two nights ago. I thought he’d be back before then. We always do something together.”

“You did do something! We went out looking for more cards and you _did a clever thing_.” Asura spoke with even more energy and leaned into her space, as if that would be enough to lift her mood.

“The games can sometimes last for years,” Indra offered.

“That’s until someone wins. I don’t need to win in order to save Kakashi.”

She didn’t miss the way Indra went still in reaction to her words.

“Then,” Indra began. “It might do you well to find allies you can support and in turn support you during the games. It would be safer.”

She wrinkled her nose but didn’t say anything about not caring who won or lost after she got Kakashi home. She knew that would just make him even stiffer in disappointment. “I don’t think I want to get tied up with another person. I only met that one guy and he was sort of creepy.”

“I agree,” Asura quickly added. “He was no good, not trustworthy at all.”

“Then the Naruto boy?”

Sakura shook her head. “Still not a part of the games and I’m pretty sure his dad is dead set on keeping it that way.”

Indra scoffed over his tea. “For a past champion he is a fool to think he can keep his son from the enforcers forever. By coddling his child he has doomed to boy. All the other duelists have head starts.”

Asura frowned at Indra’s words, but leaned over the table, ducking his head low. “When that happens you’ll be in a good position to help him though, and then they’ll talk to you again. He’ll have to because with no cards won, he’d be easy pickings.”

“He’s my _friend_, not easy pickings,” Sakura mumbled, sounding like all the energy was leaving her in her exhale. “Even if he does become desperate, he’s still my friend.”

Sakura had seen it in visions. Far in the past when duelists fought in the shadow of speakeasies and streetlights, once a duelist was defeated he or she would have to give up one of their cards to the winner. If a duelist gave up their last card they perished. If a duelist perished…there was one less person to race against for future cards.

In her visions a boy blessed by a basement dwelling collection of socialites was just so vicious. Sometimes she wished she hadn’t see the details of his deeds. She didn’t always have the stomach for it, but it helped her learn things. She saw how the boy won several cards in her visions. If only she would be lucky enough to find those same cards. 

“Caring for others is,” Asura paused before smiling and finishing, “what makes you such a strong person. I know you have a big heart. No one can fault you for that.”

Indra steppe over to their table and took her empty plate, making Asura drop his smile and lead back in his seat. It almost seemed like he was trying to avoid the smell of his brother for how hard his face contorted at their proximity. Indra, for his part, ignored Asura and washed her dish in the sink. Sakura noticed he had turned on the oven to preheat.

“It’s late enough for all this talk. Sakura, if you’re done with your snack you can go take your shower and unpack from school. When you’re done we’ll have dinner,” Indra said without turning around.

“With a movie, together?” she asked, glancing to the living room.

Indra’s face made her doubt. He wasn’t one to tell her how to live her life or belittle her for any of the choices she made, but he hesitated to include himself in many of them. It was likely because Asura refused to leave her side. The two still didn’t mix well, but they were brothers and they should work on their relationship a bit more.

“_Please_, it’s the weekend,” Sakura added. “Just watch one movie with us, please.”

Indra met her eyes and then sighed, shoulders sinking. “What movie is it?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” she chirped. “Thanks for dinner, I’ll be done in a bit.”

When she had finished cleaning up, she dressed for bed in clean pajamas that smelled like the lavender laundry detergent Indra insisted on using whenever he helped out with the chores. He was doing more than his fair share to help out and she appreciated it.

She caught sight of herself in the mirror and realized the slit on her forehead was peaking open. The sight froze her in place. After a second of nothing happening she poked at the edges, trying to fuse them back together, but they stayed split open. She couldn’t see anything out of her third eye, and the lids weren’t open wide enough for that, but she hadn’t noticed any energy flowing there during her shower.

It had been a while since it last showed her anything. She wondered if, like a volcanic vent to the immersive heat of a living planet, she was overdue for another eruption. She braced for it, sitting down on the floor in the corner and covering her face with her arms. She breathed deep breaths and waited for the change.

Too long passed before she realized nothing was going to happen.She checked in the mirror again and saw the seam nearly sealed once more. The slit was invisible again, but her fears were on full display.

Outside it was dark and she realized she had spent far too long in the bathroom freaking out over nothing when she should have finished styling her hair while it was still damp.

Indra came up with a plate when she was still treating her hair and told her she needed to eat before it got too late, even if it was only leftover lasagna.

“I swear I wasn’t taking so long on purpose,” she sighed, staring down at the plate. “You didn’t need to bring it up. I would have come down eventually.”

Indra pushed the plate into her hands. “Don’t apologize and don’t feel the need to explain anything. I’m just concerned for your health. I’ll watch the movie with you, so eat what you can and come down when you’re ready.”

His words were soft and she felt better after hearing them. “Thanks, I’ll finish up in a few.”

He reached out and brushed aside the strands of hair that fell over her forehead. “Don’t rush yourself,” he said simply before departing downstairs.

Sakura ate and finished her hair, and when she checked again, her forehead was clean and clear of any sign of a third eye.

She came down and found Asura looking through Kakashi’s bin of 80’s classics and she moved his hands out of the way to pull free a battered copy of _Lady Hawk._

“It’s one of my favorites,” she said with wide eyes, “so you’re not allowed to hate it. If you can’t stand it because it’s too romantic you can lie, okay?”

Indra made a sour face but that only made Sakura laugh. She handed off the DVD to Asura to set up while she sped into the kitchen to grab the popcorn. She had a bag ready to prep in the microwave but when she opened the door she found a freshly popped bag, still pipping hot, waiting in the middle.

“Who?”

“It’s not old, just take it and join us,” Indra huffed from the end chair next to the sectional.

Sakura felt her face warm as she pulled free the popcorn. There was already a spot free for her on the couch between the boys. Mop and Ginger were nearby, while Chainsaw curled up under Indra’s chair. Sakura spotted Bagel asleep on his bed in the corner already.

“What’s this one about anyway?” Asura asked, reading the back cover of the DVD box. “It’s a romance.”

“One of the best, I’m surprised Kakashi kept it since he’s also not a fan of the sappy stuff. But these lovers are cursed and it’s all too beautiful, ugh, here, hit play.” Sakura reached over and hit the button on the right remote and the title screen faded out.

“I am not a fan of overly dramatic _emotionals_.”

Sakura snorted. “You call romances ‘_emotionals_?’”

Indra didn’t respond, but grunted once before settling into his chair. Sakura pulled up a blanket and shared her pop corn with Asura who leaned in closer to reach the snack. 

Halfway through the movie Sakura realized something she hadn’t before; they were watching an adventure flick, not a romance. The romance always stood out to her because it was her favorite part, but watching the movie with a vocally cheering Ashura and an engaged Indra opened her eyes a bit more.

There were plenty of battles and daring escape scenes the boys enjoyed, and when it came to the romantic bits, moments when the characters who were cursed to stay apart could almost touch, she heard the way they both caught their breath. By the end when Michael Phifer stood under the light of an eclipse to defy a corrupted priest at the side of her dark night, Sakura was on the edge of her seat right alongside both boys.

Sakura let the credits roll on their own, supported by the familiar 80’s techno synth sounds. “What did you think, Indra? Was it too emotional for you?” she teased.

“I believe you left a false impression on me with the purpose of teasing me. That was an enjoyable movie.”

Sakura laughed, sinking a little further into the couch. “You think so? I’m glad, it’s one of my favorites even if you are lying about liking it. I enjoyed seeing it again.”

She felt Asura reach for her hand and tug at it from under the blanket. Sleepily, she looked up at him from where she had slid down on the couch and smiled. She didn’t doubt it was a sloppy smile but he didn’t seem to mind.

“What was your favorite part?” he asked her.

She yawned and turned over onto her back so that she stared straight up at him. “I liked all the parts. When they’re still under the curse and it is daybreak he begins to turn back into a man and she begins to turn back into a hawk, but for just a moment it looks like they’ll be able to touch…” Sakura sucked in a breath over her teeth and then let it out, deflating into the cushions. “It never gets old to me. He loved her so much even if he couldn’t touch her. It’s beautiful.”

She closed her eyes and turned her face to the edge to watched what was left of the credits roll up. Indra was already up with the DVD remote in hand. Asura flicked at the air in front of her eyes to get her attention.

“You think it’s rare for love to exist?” he asked.

It took her nearly a minute more to think up a response. “Maybe? I…I don’t know. I don’t have much experience.” 

Asura’s grin made his eyes crinkle. “Oh yeah? Why do I have a hard time believing that?”

“I’m being honest,” she insisted as Indra removed the DVD.

His grin was positively shit eating as he loomed closer. “Awww, was Kakashi real strict with you? I bet he scared off all your unworthy suitors behind your back.”

Sakura felt her face heat up, she turned over, smothering herself. When she replied the couch cushions muffled it too much to be audible. Asura tugged on her hand and laughed about how he couldn’t hear her until she came up for air.

“I said, he let me make my own choices and he never scared anyone off. Just….no one ever…asked me seriously.”

“Honest?” Asura gasped, smile dropping. “No way, I don’t believe it.”

“It is their loss,” Indra cut in, replacing the DVD in its holder and then sorting it back into the bin. “But all the same, if they were too intimidated by your father figure, they weren’t worth the time of day.”

“For sure!”Asura exclaimed, agreeing with his brother for the first time in his life it seemed like. “You’re way too amazing to waste on someone who isn’t willing to do the minimum. You’re fantastic, Sakura, and if you were turned into a hawk you’d still be worth it.”

Sakura felt the heat of her face and didn’t want to look up, but Asura’s last comment made her crack. Her smile spilled out and she laughed, reaching for a pillow to smack him with. Asura complained before grabbing his own pillow and smacking back at her with it. Ginger barked, tail going wild as she paced between them. Indra didn’t complain like he normally would when someone made a mess, but watched until they were done, and that’s when she noticed Chainsaw, asleep in his arms.

It was a better night than her day had been. She stood up from the tangle of her blanket and pushed away the hair that had fallen in front of her face. Her hand came away red.

“Shit, not again.”

She started to slip but saw in time the figure looking in from the living room windows. Across the property between the trees, an enforcer stood, highlighted in shades of silver from the swelling moonlight.

Then another bout of blackness took her over.

-

She was in her own vision this time, something small and barely developed, more pudge than girl. She was somewhere hot, in a tank top and shorts running through the woods calling for someone, chasing after them.

Sakura saw her younger self pause in the middle of the woods and scream again before laughing and taking off after a shadow. A boy with darker hair and the same sort of eyes darted from tree to tree. His tank top nearly matched hers.

“Let me catch you!” The young Sakura giggled and ran at the same time, chasing after the green eyed boy.

Something felt so wrong about the scene, but Sakura couldn’t deny the familiarity. She hadn’t any memories of her life before Kakashi. He had looked for her family but found nothing. She was a girl lost in the forest he saved-that was it, that’s all that mattered.

The boy was climbing up into a tree, branch after branch. The little Sakura couldn’t follow, being as small as she was. She bounced and bounced, making grabbing motions with her hands as she waited for him to come down, but he just kept climbing.

When the branch under him snapped Sakura felt her heart stop. From an impossible height the small boy tumbled and landed with a wet sound.

Both Sakuras screamed as the boy’s cluster of freckles faded with his death, only to appear on her body a second later. The tiny girl was trying to touch her brother but his whole body was a mess and her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

There was the crunch of leaves and a new figure appeared from the bushes, eyes wide and full of blame when they turned to Sakura.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back story time!


	15. The Archer

She woke up and turned her head to the side, seeing Ginger's golden fur. She inhaled and the Golden Retriever jerked up, hearing the sound of her waking. The other dogs twitched awake. Mop whined and Chainsaw barked as he climbed up over her knees and fell off her hip onto the couch. A second later he scratched his way back up and barked to get her attention.

The dogs were all agitated and she knew why. They could tell when she had night terrors or bad dreams. It made sense that they would all be around her when she woke up after seeing such things.

She rubbed at her face, feeling for the third eye and finding nothing but unmarked skin. The eye was recessed and took its visions with it.

There had been a brother. She hadn't expected that. She had thought about her mother and father, dreamed up what wonderful or horrible people they might have been, but she hadn't evener considered siblings.

‘His mark,’ she thought to herself, touching the freckles that made up the Chalice constellation.

She had two of them, turned towards each other like perfect mirrored versions of each other, but she had only been born with _one_ of them. The other one came from her brother. When he died she had been the closest one involved in the games, so his marks transferred to her.

“Sakura?”

Asura’s hand touched hers and she jerked at the contact, but relaxed when she realized it was only him. He had been behind her on the edge of the couch, waiting for her to wake. His eyes were searching hers, brows furrowed in worry as he held himself back.

“I’m better now,” she said, trying to assure him.

“You had another vision but it sounded like a nightmare. Are you fine with that?”

Fine was an appropriate word. She wasn’t okay, but she would manage herself enough to function; she was _fine_.

“Yeah,” she coughed, readjusting herself on the couch. “I just remembered something that boy Yagura said, about another duelist murdering others. If one of us dies, our marks go to the closest living duelist."

"It's a lazy but time honored tradition," Asura said from behind the couch. "There has always been death in the games, if not from the cards than because of them. You might not understand it, but others are desperate to win that wish."

She felt dizzy, like she hadn't finished waking up all the way. "Desperate enough to murder?"

"At the very least," Indra interjected, coming back into the room with a can of ginger ale and some headache medicine. "Here, drink this, it will help to settle your stomach."

"How did you know I would need this?" she asked, reaching for the can. She sipped at first before the taste kicked in, and then drank more greedily. His kindness made her smile.

"You remembered how your brother died, didn't you?"

A moment passed before she realized what he just said. Sakura froze, eyes blown wide. Then she was surging, she jerked her head back and stared up at the man. She didn't think she had the breath in her lungs to scream, but her voice was charged with rage.

"You knew?! You knew I had a brother?!"

Asura looked back and forth between the two, equally lost. "Wait, what? How would you know something like that?" Asura asked his own brother.

"I was there, I would know such a thing." Indra glanced sideways at Asura, lips turning down. "You should have remembered it as well."

"But you don't remember other stuff about Sakura, like her recitals or volleyball matches or-"

Sakura cut Asura off, standing on the couch and reaching for Indra's shirt with her free hand to keep him in place. "You knew and you didn't tell me? I-you-we've been-you've been out of your card for weeks, you could have mentioned it at some point that you knew."

Indra met her gaze without flinching. “You never asked."

She felt lost at the cold detached way he regarded her. It was so abnormal for what she was used to. He took care of her wounds, healed her burns and scars, got her food when she was hungry, and medicine when she was sick. He was kind and took care of her, but now... now he looked at her like none of that even mattered.

It was late. Outside the world was pitch colored but she didn’t care. Sakura took off running out through the back door, stepping into her shoes as she went. Asura was calling out to her but she ignored him, running with Mop and Ginger and Bagel all hot on her heels. Chainsaw barked from where someone caught him, but she didn’t turn to look back and see which brother kept the Jack Russel Terrier.

She knew the world of her backyard blind, and ran through it without a light. There was a swelling moon in the sky, but clouds choked out the stars and moonlight alike. She only stopped to think about a light after she had left the yard and paused between the trees. She was in her sneakers and pajamas. She hadn’t grabbed a jacket and her breath came out visible as she gasped.

She heard the sound of that boy’s body hitting the ground and smacking; it was a wet sound that echoed endlessly. That’s how she got her second Chalice constellation. Had she been a fool to assume someone else had transferred the mark like how she saw it done in her old time visions? Had she been naive to assume it was a bloodless thing?

She stumbled through the brush in between the trees, knowing the way well enough to get by before uneven earth tripped her up. She banged her knee and stained her pants.

“Stupid,” she said out loud.

Mop whined beside her, worried about where she was going. He nipped at her shirt collar in an effort to drag her back to the house, reminding her of how Kakashi’s dogs would do the same thing. When she had been younger she ran away more than once. The dogs always followed and Kakashi always found her once she was done crying.

She had been cruel to him back then, but Kakashi always found her and always took her back, no matter how nasty she got with him.

He wouldn’t come for her now.

Ginger whined and Bagel circled back, growling as Mop let go of her shirt to join Bagel in growling at something between the trees. A moment later the blue outline of the monster’s body lit up the dark. Sakura couldn’t see the rest of its body, but the outline of its many ribs and the shape of its horse looking skull glowed through the dark. It opened its mouth and showed off all the teeth that ran down the length of its throat.

Sakura felt the card for the wand in her hand and swung it until the staff with the moon icon at the end appeared. She felt the magic and flared it wistfully, lighting up the surrounding area with light.

“You’re not going to touch me,” Sakura snarled, climbing to her feet. “I’m playing your damn game.”

The creature swayed, regarding her from the side before crouching and springing sideways, further and deeper into the woods. It got a ways before it turned and looked back at her. It opened its mouth and all the teeth stood out as it made a keening sound, eerie and haunting. Ginger dropped onto her belly behind Sakura while Bagel and Mop just growled louder at her side.

The creature took off, a streak of ghostly blue cutting through the dark.

Sakura relaxed and the dogs stoped growling. With the staff in her hand she now had a light. It helped her find her way through the woods to the dell that lead up to the mansion. Like each time she had checked it during the past couple of weeks, it stood immaculate and pristine among the depressing foliage. The Gatehouse looked new as well, but the mansion was furnished and warm like it expected guests.

Even unnaturally refurbished, Sakura wasn’t deterred and sought it out. She needed someplace to cool down, and a warm bed beside a stoked fire wasn’t the worst place to end up. No one else knew about the mansion. She’d be free to cool down on her own for as long as she wanted.

The mansion belonged to her more than anyone else, after all.

She let herself in and found her way upstairs to one of the master sized bedrooms. There was a fireplace with all the trappings ready and waiting. When she checked in the closet she found it full with clothes. Weeks ago the sight would have unnerved her, but she had made enough trips to her mansion to know better.

Sakura stepped out of her dirty things and found a nightdress that was as sleek as the silver screens led her to believe. Dressed, she crouched in front of the fireplace and got it going after a few false starts. Within minutes the chill left the room and she was able to comfortable pull back the covers and slip in.

She would go back in the morning and apologize for running off, and hopefully Indra would apologize for keeping such a secret from her. Maybe he wouldn’t, but she hoped he would understand that what he did wasn’t right. She felt lied to…used…

Ginger whinedbefore circling and laying down behind Sakura’s legs. Mop settled in at the foot of the bed and Sakura reached for Chainsaw, but realized her wasn’t with her a half second later. Bagel sat down next to the bed, resting his head on the edge of her mattress to watch her before laying down himself.

Sakura heard the voice of reason in her head telling her to put out the fire, but the safety grate was up and she felt like falling asleep, so she closed her eyes and drifted for what could only be a few hours.

The world was still dark when scratching at the door woke her. The fire was low and the room was cold, but all her dogs were in different stages of wakeful aggressions. Ginger turned around to dig herself under the pillows while Mop and Bagel growled at what was on the other side of the door.

Sakura readied her wand.

A light over her shoulder made her turn her head in time to see a golden flash inside, shining through the window. Looking out she saw that the greenhouse, a detached part of the mansion, was reflecting light from something inside.

The scratching at her door stopped and Sakura understood why. A card had appeared so close to where she rested. There was an enforcer at the door, waking her to chase after it.

“No, I don’t need to do that now,” she hissed back at the door, angry and tired all at once. “Go away!”

The wood floor rattled as the creature groaned and then roared. It was like the sound from the pit of a deep cave, unending and bone rattling.

Ginger whined and it was a wonder the poor dog hadn’t made a mess on the floor. Even Mop, arguably the dog with the worst bite and the strongest sense of fight out of all of them, was quivering at the sound. It made her hesitate.

There was a final scratch and then the clamoring of bones as the creature took off, screaming through the house and out into the night. The wand was still in Sakura’s hand, and the magic flowed through her freely. Even though it was well past midnight and too early for morning, Sakura knew she wouldn’t be falling back asleep anytime soon.

She stepped into her shoes and opened the door. No one was in the hall and the door was unmarked, showing no signs of a creature scratching at the wood. Even down the stairs and out to the greenhouse Sakura couldn’t detect a single sign of the enforcer.

Inside the greenhouse, long dead plants from exotic corners of. The world were lush and rejuvenated with new life. Even in the dead of a late autumn night it was warm inside. A shallow troth of water flowed throughout the greenhouse and Sakura followed it towards the center of the room, where a table and chairs was set up as well as a bench, a sundial, and an abstract pedi stool with a glass where atop it. The sphere was glowing.

Sakura turned the wand over in her hand once before reaching for the sphere. But her fingers touched glass and the glowing light flickered, melting into focus as the glass sphere reflected a new sight. Inside the glass Sakura saw a vision of a trio of gold cards zooming through the air and landing in the statue behind the library, the bookshelves inside, and then far beyond the boundary of the building out of sight.

She groaned aloud when she realized the sphere didn’t actually have anything, it only showed her where she needed to go.

“The library is too far away. Even if I started walking now it would take all night and the next day to make it in time.” 

She let the wand drop from her fingers and it twisted into a card that then slipped out of existence, ready to be used some time later. The freckles that matched the wand warmed once and then dulled. A different set of freckles grew hot, drawing her eyes down. The constellation for the Stag glowed. Not knowing what else to do she summoned the card and then pushed magic into it. There was a flash and then an impossibly tall buck with twisting antler stood before her. Taller than any horse she had ever seen, it meant down towards her and pressed its head into her hand.

‘You wanted to go somewhere?’ a voice asked in her head. She didn’t see its lips move, but she recognized the voice.

“I did. Can you…take me there?” Sakura asked.

‘It is what I specialize in as a card for transportation,’ the Stag hummed in her mind, sounding delighted. ‘No more excuses, do what you must. Climb upon my back and I will take you where you must go.’

Sakura hesitated only a moment more before doing as she was told. His hide was soft under her fingers, and she found herself warmed just by her proximity. A moment later, with her fingers curled into its hair, the world blurred terribly, like a wet oil painting. Sakura caught a stretched out detail in the mess, a house, a tree…but everything else was indistinguishable as the Stage traveled miles in a single bound. 

Then they touched down in front of the Library.

The statue of a man on a horse made out of stone stood outside, the belly of the beast glowing a faint gold. There was another echoing glow of gold coming from somewhere inside, but the library was locked and Sakura content to focus on only one problem at a time.

Somewhere far behind her she heard the scream of some new enforcer.

Sakura didn’t stop to think of Asura or even Indra. She summoned her wand, dismissing the stage, and reached to touch the golden light.

Maybe that was a mistake.

The world bled gold and then white and then colored itself in different shades of warm afternoon light filtered through the trees with scarlet leaves. There was an archery bow in her hand and a number of arrows stuck, point first, into the moist soil by her heel.

Sakura blinked and looked around, but found it difficult to move with the soil under her heels wet and ever shifting. But then, behind her, she noticed the golden card hovering high up in midair.She glanced down at the bow and arrows and then realized what card she had chosen: Sagittarius the Archer.

“_You’re not lifting your elbow enough_,” Kakashi had once told her, when he first taught her how to shoot from a bow.

Their compound bows were a bit more elaborate and took less effort to fire. Sakura tested out the string and found it more sturdy than what she was used to, but that was fine. She had five arrows and nothing else in sight. If she missed she didn’t think she’d get a second chance.

“_You’ve got a good eye on you,_” Kakashi had once laughed.

She remembered his words, notched an arrow, aimed, held her breath in her lungs, and then fired.

The first one nearly hit, missing only by a hair. The seance on went too far in the opposite direction when she self corrected, but when she fired her third shot she knew it would be a winner before the arrow left her fingers just like how he taught her.

‘_That’s my girl_.’

Sakura’s heart still hurt even as the card fell from the sky with her arrow sticking out of it, a clear indicator of her victory. A scattering of freckles started to glow gold on the palm of her left hand even as the world began to fade away.

Sakura felt numb as she dropped down to her knees and knelt against the stone hoof raise halfway in the air. Her body felt fuzzy all over and she wondered, absently, if having so many new freckle sets had anything to do with it.Some of the freckles were warm and glowing while others rested, cold against her skin.

She touched the freckles over her chest, the ones that belonged to Asura and Indra. She was tempted to summon them back to her side if for no other reason, than to have someone help her back home, but she didn’t want to see their faces so soon after storming out. Mostly she was just upset with Indra, but she didn’t want to drive the wedge between brothers too much more, and getting angry at only one of them would have most vertically done that.

Inside the golden light flickered and Sakura noticed the door to the library was slightly ajar. She forced herself onto her feet, a herculean task when her skin still hummed with angry magic still needing to settle.

The door had been unlocked and the alarm system was turned off, showing all the signs of natural entry. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but when Sakura turned the corner, a young man sat on the edge of the check out counter, holding a new glowing card between his fingers.

“Yagura,” Sakura breathed, surprised at the sight of the other duelist. Even thought half the lights were turned on but it was enough to see by, and there was no mistaking it. It was Yagura, the duelist from the bowling alley.He looked up and grinned, meeting her eyes without a hint of surprise.

“Sorry, were you thinking you’d cash in on a two for one deal?” he teased, turning the card on his finger. Sakura caught a flash of a picture; a woman with a waterfall made from her hair.

“You were here too. How did you know to come to the library?”

He shrugged and the card winked out of existence. A smattering of freckles on his neck glowed in response. “We all have our ways, don’t we? I’m sure you’re nearly as willing to share with me the secrets to how you found this place.”

“I live here.” Sakura swept her hand out. “This is my library. How did you get into it? I know they lock it up at night.”

“Well, I may not be a local but I’m sure you’ll find I’m quick and adaptable.” His eyes lit up and his smile curled when he saw the state of her dress. She was still in the silk nightgown with an oversized jacket. She refused to feel self conscious when his eyes lifted back up to meet hers with a new sort of gleam. “So, what ya say? Interested in that partnership?”

“I think I’ll survive.”

“You sure? I bring a lot to the table. Why don’t you consider it?”

“No.”

She thought back to the memory that unsettled her so much in the first place. Killing someone meant their marks went to the nearest duelist. If Yagura wanted to kill her, he’d get all her marks and she’d be no closer to finding Kakashi as a dead person.

He frowned, turning his head to the side to view her at a new angle. “I could give you a ride back, at least. You look a little worn down.”

Sakura held up a palm to rebuff his offer. “No thanks. If you’ve already cleaned up the cards in here then there isn’t a point in me staying here. I’ll head back on my own.”

“Cards?”

His tone made her pause. It sounded almost confused, but a quick glance around the room revealed no other glow. She hadn’t been mistaken. There had been three glows, three cards that landed near or inside the library.

Sakura spun, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. Yagura wasn’t hostile, but there was a new presence in the room that was. She stepped back, easing into the shadows while Yagura hopped off the ledge and strut confidently down the lit lobby to stand in the center atop the mural of the world painted into the floor.

“There are no more cards but there is someone here, somewhere. Show yourself!” A number of different freckles began to glow along his neck and under the fabric of his jacket sleeve, close to his wrist.

A moment passed and nothing changed; no one appeared.

Yagura smirked and turned back around, hands on his hips. “Must have gotten scared and split, if there really was someone.”

The words just left his lips when the back wall exploded and a hand the size of a pick up truck came crashing through with claws stretched wide to swipe at where Yagura stood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guesses on what that 'hand' is made out of from the end of the chapter? 
> 
> Almost forgot Sunday was Sunday and slept through most of the day, but remembered this in time! Ahha!


	16. Black Tortoise

Yagura dove and the hand missed in its swipe, excess particles of something glittery falling free. Sakura watched in muted horror as the hand retreated only for a new one to take its place, swiping and reaching through the hole for something to hold.

Yagura cursed, straightened with his phone in his hand. Sakura saw the screen light up as he attempted to make a call, but when the second hand came he dropped it as he rolled free. She heard him curse louder then say something like, ‘I can’t get a call through!’ It sounded like he had friends who could help him.

The alarm he had so carefully bypassed was on and loud, screaming overhead. It wouldn’t be long before someone showed up. There was a back exit behind the erotic fiction corner that Sakura could safely use without fear of setting off a new alarm. She could reach the exit without having to leave the shadows but that didn’t mean Yagura would make it.

Sakura glanced back and winced at the scene. Yagura took the full brunt of a hit and his clothing came away shredded, but where his skin should have split and bled there was only hardened black scales like the patches on the back of a tortoise shell. If anything, Yagura looked more pissed off than hurt. He’d be fine.

_“…I’ve only run into one other duelist and he wasn’t worth sticking around for. You do know someone killed one of the other duelists, right?_”

The memory stopped her in her tracks. There were no more cards to fight over, and this was no dream world. Someone in the real world was using real force to really hurt or kill someone else. Another duelist was trying to kill Yagura for his cards.

When she looked back the hands made out of shadowed sand were still stretching through a hole in the front entrance, but there was no sign of their controller. If she wanted to do something she had to do it fast before that person showed up.

Sakura summoned the wand into her hand and a felt an ember of fire in her heart from the magic. She thought of smoke, great big plumes of thick black smoke columns. She drew on the strength of the lion and felt the tip of her wand burn. Everything seemed brighter when she opened her eyes.

She swung her wand, manifested as a simple stick with its end on fire, and shot a controlled stream of black smoke out at the hands, closest to the hole as she could get. Within seconds the room was thick with smoke and seeing through it was near impossible. Sakura reached for Yagura, remembering where he stood, and dragged him behind her.

Behind her the hands turned into paws and swept out the smoke, clawing it out the opening but Sakura didn’t look back more than once. She knew the way and she was dragging Yagura behind her for better or worse. The back exit was where she remembered it and even though it triggered the emergency exit alarm, thanks to their intruder none of that mattered.

He ran alongside her once they were out and Sakura reached with her free hand to drop her wand and replace it with the flittering glass card for her Stag. A moment later the mammoth beast galloped up alongside them and Sakura reached to pull herself up, turning around only to help Yagura when it looked like he might shy away.

“The station,” she shouted to the stag, turning partway around in her seat to look back at the glass doors to the library.

The smoke was still thinning, but there was no way she could miss the shape of a figure pressing his hands up against the glass. His face was young and soft still, but he was nearly a man with dark rimmed eyes and messy red hair. She saw the look of surprise on his face give way to an expression twisted up in utter rage as he screamed at their retreating figures.

In the next moment the world was a blur of colors as the Stag crossed leagues in a single bound. The world was still dark, a limited mess of colors, but when the stag touched down there was a light on at the police station.

“Shit,” Yagura gasped. His arms trembled around her stomach and he had a hard time unlatching them at first until he laughed. “You sure know how to make a getaway. That’s a lot flashier than what I had in mind.”

“We’re both in one piece, that’s what matters.”

Yagura chuckled behind her and reached up to tug on a stray curl around her ear. “You know, there was a chance if I died that you would inherit my cards instead of that guy. Who’s to say you were or weren’t the closest?”

“There are a lot of things funnier than that sort of joke,” Sakura grumbled. “Is there somewhere I can drop you off?”

“Not the police station, please. I’d like to stay out of jail a little longer if possible.”

Sakura felt him rummaging around before cursing again under his breath when he couldn’t find his phone. He turned to her but Sakura spoke before he could.

“I don’t have a phone on me either, but we can use one inside.”

“I don’t think anyone is up and active at this hour, darling,” he laughed.

“I’ve got it,” Sakura grumbled.

She held down the end of her nightgown as she lifted one leg over the Stag’s back and slid free. With an amused chuckle he followed her and then, no longer needed, the Stag returned to his card and her freckles.

There was a keypad lock to one of the doors Kakashi had her memorize. She stood in front of the camera and waved to it, knowing someone would end up asking questions in regards to who buzzed themselves in at 4AM on a weekend morning. The only one who was likely up and awake was Guy, but he would be one of the first ones called to respond to something like a library break in.

The door opened without issue. Sakura ignored Yagura’s raised eyebrows as well as the implication.She got the impression that he was one of those people who liked it when the authorities didn’t notice his actions.

“There’s a phone here you can use,” Sakura said, stopping by Iruka’s desk. “Do you have someone you can call?”

Yagura laughed at the old model phone and tossed the receiver around before resting it up against his ear with a wink. “Of course I do. You worried you’d have to keep me company much longer?”

“Just…make your call,” Sakura sighed.

She turned around to look at the room for the first time in nearly three weeks. Since she came to find Kakashi the day before he went missing...nothing much looked changed. They left his name on the door to the back office, and all his things were there when she went in to check.

There were a few things different, like the pictures on his desk were all turned down and his computer was in hibernate mode instead of completely turned off, the way Kakashi preferred it be left when he wasn't around.

Sakura reached for one of the photos of him as a child with his two other friends. When she had been a girl she had been jealous of the kids in the photo, because she knew nothing about them from kakashi, and it seemed like he cared about them more than her. There was no photo of her on his desk, after all.

Sakura normally wouldn’t have risked it, but she crept behind the desk and wiggled the mouse until the computer came back to life. When she tried Kakashi’s password for the home computer she was almost disappointed how easy it was to get in. 

“What are you doing?” Yagura asked from the doorway, sounding impressed and ready to laugh.

Sakura just touched her lips and then started to sort through his files, looking for anything that might be related to the game or cards. Guy had mentioned they knew who had marks before Anko set off the chain of events that stirred the resurrection of the games prematurely.

Yagura came up behind her and leaned over the back of the chair, watching her. “You think the local hicks would know anything about this?”

“I know they do, and we’re not hicks by the way.”

Yagura chuckled. “I wasn’t including you in that generalizing statement. I’ve just noticed a sense of lax from the local authorities in comparison to what I usually deal with. You know this…_Kakishi_ guy?”

Sakura almost flinched but didn’t. “His name is Kakashi. Yeah, I know him.”

“He’s missing. What do you think happened to him?”

“I’m sort of busy looking through these,” Sakura huffed, leaning away from him, closer to the monitor. “Let me think.”

A moment later Sakura found a file that wasn’t titled in English. Unlike her, Kakashi actually knew how to read, write, and speak Japanese. She could pick up a few phrases and recognize a few characters, but she knew how to recognize 1980’s pop sensation Akina Nakamori’s name when written in Kanji. 

Kakashi _hated_ 80’s Japanese pop.

Inside the file there were two more files, one with her own name written in kanji and the other one she didn’t recognize, something called _Jinchūriki_. She clicked on the other one, not willing to share what she found with Yagura. The contents were in English. There was one file marked Current, one marked Previous. She clicked on the one marked Current.

“That’s my name,” Yagura exclaimed in surprise.

There were a total of ten names only.

_Gaara Sabaku_

_Yugito Nii_

_Yagura Karatachi_

_Roshi Goku _

_Han Kokuō_

_Utakata Lee_

_Fū Chōmei_

_Chen ’Killer B’ Gyūki _

_Naruto Uzamaki_

_Sakura Haruno _

Yagura’s breath was shallow against her ear. “Those are all….these are the names of duelists. That’s the missing guy, Roshi Goku, and below him the fellow Han was killed in a car accident out in the middle of nowhere. Open their files.”

Sakura clicked on one, and it was a police file on the person, but at the end there was a box labeled with ‘_Known Constellations_’ that read ‘**_Black: Emperor_**’ and nothing else.

“Oh shit, I don’t think I’m supposed to know about this,” Sakura whispered to herself, taking her hand off the mouse.

“Don’t you want to check and see which one of these assholes was the one watching us from the window at the library?” he pressed.

Sakura bit her lip but moved to hover the mouse over the first file. She didn’t have to do a lot of searching, Gaara’s picture came up and it was the same soft faces and messy red hair she remembered seeing earlier in the library. At the bottom there was a section for personal notes that had been scanned in.

“They suspect him of murdering the other two,” Yagura read.

“He has so many constellations already,” Sakura breathed, counting more than five.

“But he hasn’t won any of them I bet.”

Sakura checked and saw the file was last edited the day before around 5:40PM after most of the officers would switch over their shifts and head home. She knew it couldn’t have been Kakashi, but someone in the office was updating the files. Who else would know Kakashi’s password? Guy?

Yagura’s hand was on her shoulder, alerting her. “Someone just pulled up outside. It’s not my people.”

“How do you know?” Sakura asked, clicking out and signing out to put the computer back in its original hibernate mode.

“I know my people. They’ll be here soon. I better split.”He hesitated on the threshold, glancing back just once to wink at her and add, “I think we made a pretty awesome team tonight. I won’t forget I owe you one, so next time, let’s work together.”

He was out the door and when Sakura stood to watch him leave, there wasn’t a sign of him anywhere, just some wet footprints on the floorboards.

The headlights of an approaching car cut across the window before turning off as the car parted and someone ran out, crunching gravel as he ran. A moment the door opened and Guy stood there, looking exasperated.

“You’re okay.” His whole body seemed to deflate at the exclamation. Sakura ran to him and caught his arm before he could sag any more.

“Of course I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?”she huffed. “Why are you so relieved? What happened?”

“There was an incident at the library. We think its part of the games. I suspected you would be there, but then someone entered the code for the station and I knew it had to be you.” Guy pushed her away to look her over and frowned at her state of undress. “What happened to you?”

“I…it’s a long story. I had a fight with Indra and ran off.” Sakura licked her lips, remembering the vision that nearly split open her brain. “Did you know he was…he was my first card? Did you know how I got Asura?”

Guy frowned at her voice, sensing something off in her tone no doubt. He led her over to his desk and guided her into his chair before kneeling at her knee. “What was it I should know? What did you learn from him?”

“Not him, this,” Sakura said, pointing to her forehead. “I saw a vision of me in the past. I was playing with another boy who had the mark for Asura over his chest, but the boy climbed too high in his tree and fell. He died right in front of me and that’s how I got my second marking. Indra knew all about it but…he didn’t tell me.” Sakura swallowed and tried to laugh. “I guess now when I say it all out loud it sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”

“Running out on your own is dangerous, and you shouldn’t do so lightly.” Guy reached up and cupped the back of her head. His hands were wide and could cradle the whole of her skull, even now. She felt like a kid again under his touch.

“I know. I just…I miss Kakashi and I don’t know how much longer I can do this for. You said these games can last years but I don’t know if I can go so long without him. I don’t…I don’t feel like I belong here anymore.”

“Sakura?” he almost sounded like he was about to chastise her, but the tear trails on her face stopped him.

“He was my brother. The boy that died. I don’t remember his name, but I remember I had a brother and that was him. Did…did Kakashi know about this?”

“I’m not sure. He did investigate your biological family, but it was difficult to find anything about them. They were reclusive and we suspected it had to do with their knowledge of the games. You already had three different marks before all this started. Those don’t just happen to a six year old.” Guy ruffled her hair some more. “I meant to interrogate you a bit more, but I think it’s too late for you. Let me give you a ride back to the house. You can talk it out with the boys in the morning. I’m sure they’re upset about you running out, but you know you’ll have to face them. Better sooner than later.”

“You sound like Kakashi.”

Sakura groaned, recognizing the responsibility in Guy’s words. It was something Kakashi would have said as he was always someone urging her to be more accountable and face her problems. She had a bad habit of running away from them, after all.

“Come on, into the cruiser. I’m taking you back. Shisui and Yamato can finish at the library and write up their report for the incident.”

Sakura stood when Guy did, following him out. “What happened at the library? Did a card show up? The enforcers were out int he woods, I saw.”

“The moon is back and so is this chaos it would seem. There was more than one card at the library and at least one duelist lost her life there.”

Sakura stumbled but caught herself on the frame of the car. “Someone died?!”

Guy nodded grimly before climbing in behind the steering wheel. Sakura followed him, sinking into the passenger’s seat and closing the door behind her.

“She was a duelist, a young woman named _Fū_, not from around here. If I know Yamato he’ll be able to manage a mess like that. Likely he’ll chalk it up as a runaway truck barreling through the wall and killing the only passenger. Its a tragedy, but it diverts attention form the truth like Minato wants.”

Sakura’s throat felt like cotton as she considered how close she came to trading places with the other duelist. The boy named Gaara had been there and he had killed his third duelist before attempting to kill Yagura.

It had always been a possibility and a well publicized danger, but knowing how close she came to a human murderer made the spaces between her bones ache with chill until Guy’s hand cupped her skull again. She looked up at he was beaming his trademark smile.

“Don’t fret, Sakura, you’re perfectly safe. Kakashi raised a strong girl and you’ll be safe with those two. Make your peace with them and enjoy your youth a little more. Finals season is coming up soon, isn’t it?”

“No, I have four more weeks, that’s plenty of time,” Sakura said.

“Even so, don’t push yourself. I’m sure you’re scared right now. I remember the feeling well. Don’t let it rule you, stand above it. Call on some friends if you need it. Shikamaru has been giving you rides and I know Choji and Ino are good friends. They’d see to you if you asked them to.”

“I …don’t want to bother them more than I already do.”

“Ah yes, that sounds like you, Sakura. But remember that there are people who care about you and who want to help. If someone asked you and you were able, would you help them out?”

Sakura knew the answer would be yes, but she felt to embarrassed to admit it. Guy just laughed at her non answer, used to it.

“Start with those two boys. Look at them there,” Guy said, turning down the private driveway and heading towards the house with all the porch and flood lights on.

Asura stood at the bottom of the front porch stairs with Chainsaw in his arms. The other dogs, Ginger, Mop, and Bagel, clambered in the window. On the second story floor Indra watched from behind a curtain. It was still dusky out, but that didn’t seem to stop them from being up and ready. Guy laughed at the sight.

“Don’t laugh,” Sakura complained, sinking in her seat even as the car came to a stop in front of the house. Asura didn’t approach, but waited eagerly at the bottom of the steps while Chainsaw struggled in his arms.

Guy glanced between Asura and then Sakura and chuckled again, petting the back of her hair down. “Make up, but don’t make up too much, otherwise Kakashi would never forgive me.”

“Ugh, what is that supposed to mean?” Sakura asked with a flush.

She knew _exactly_ what it meant.

“Well there are two of them that hate each other so I don’t think its so likely, but all the same, remember to stick to your boundaries. I can talk to them if-”

“Bye Guy!” Sakura loudly cut him off. She slipped out and slammed the door behind her, eyes wide in warning. He grinned at the message and saluted her before putting the car into reverse and backing out. 

“Sakura.”

She turned at the sound of her name. Indra was still in the upstairs window but Asura approached her first.

“Sakura, are you okay? We could tell you were inside a card but you didn’t call to either of us. Are you sure you’re fine?” Asura stopped an arm’s reach away and let Chainsaw go only for Sakura to scoop him up when he began to jump up her legs.

“I’m fine. I have one new card, there’s nothing else new I need to say now, I guess.” Sakura licked her lips and then buried her face in Chainsaw’s fur. It muffled her words but Asura still heard her. “I’m sorry I ran out on you like that.I shouldn’t have, but I’m cooled down now.”

She heard his sigh and looked up to see his face melt into a relaxed expression. His eyes were soft as they took her in and there was nothing left but affection for her, no resentment, no blame, not even confusion.

“Welcome home,” Asura said.

“Yeah, I’m back. Thanks.”

He offered her his hand and Sakura ducked her head and brushed up against his shoulder instead. It made him laugh and curl his arm around her, leading her inside with her pinned to his side.

The dogs all greeted her and Sakura stepped out of her muddy boots but not the oversized coat that kept her warm. It wasn’t so bad inside, but Sakura was reminded how nice the underside of her covers from bed would feel after skipping out on sleep for almost the whole night.

She stumbled into the kitchen, apologizing all the way even though Asura wouldn’t hear of it.

“You were upset,” he said to her after she brewed a tea to help her sleep. “Indra is at fault too, he shouldn’t have been so harsh with you. He’s a jerk. You’re better off not caring about him, then you won’t get upset when he does this sort of stuff to you.”

“It’s normal for your brother to act in such a way?” she asked, watching the water boil in the maker.

“Yeah….I guess so. He doesn’t rely on others, he does everything on his own, by the book, and is just a straight up jerk about stuff. If you mess up he’ll remember it for the rest of your life and you’ll never be good enough in his eyes. I don’t know if that’s normal sibling issues, but that’s what I know about my brother. I’m not surprised he hid things from you.”

“I was out of line to react so rashly. It’s not like he was hiding anything or lying to me on purpose. He was right when he said I never asked.”

Asura frowned as the tea finished, stepping closer to her side. “Still, he was a jerk about it. He’s too stiff. Why don’t you leave him inside his card?”

“I don’t think he’d like it there. _You_ don’t.”

“I’m different. I enjoy your company too much to be deprived of it for so long. I’d rather wait for you here or never be separated from you in the first place if I can help it.” Asura moved forward and poured the warm tea for her. He blew across the rim and then set it into her hands, folding his fingers around hers. “Is it too hot?”

She managed a grin but it felt thin on her face. “A little, but it’s nice to hold it like this. My fingers were numb.”

Asura watched her for a moment before making a decision and bending down to kiss at her fingers, breathing a warm breath over them to help them warm up. It made her want to pull back, but his lips were soft and reverent over her knuckles, and she found herself unable to pry herself from him.

He lifted his eyes and peered up at her through his lashes. “Better?” he asked in a whisper,breathing on her fingers again.

Numbly, Sakura nodded.

“You’re dead on your feet. Drink and then get to bed. You need to rest.”

He led her up to bed, watched to make sure she took a drink from her tea, and then left her with her dogs scattered around her room.

She was ready to drift off under a thick arrangement of different blankets when Chainsaw jumped up and ran for the door to bark once. Sakura heard a shuffle and pushed back the covers to go see. When she pushed the door open Indra was there, hands suddenly fisted with knuckles tight at his sides.

“Sakura,” he said suddenly, even as Chainsaw circled his ankles happily. “You…you’re still awake. I thought you might be sleeping.”

“Not yet.” Sakura sighed and ran a hand back through her hair, loose and wild as it was. “Look, Indra, I’m sorry about running out on you like that. I was angry and upset and I did something stupid. I…I shouldn’t have run away like I had.”

“I also have reason to apologize. I was…. immature and acted like a child. I should not have been so cold to you. I didn’t consider your feelings, only my own, when I saw how close my brother was becoming to you-I never meant to _hurt_ you.”

“I figured as much. It just wasn’t the best time to go cold shoulder on me. I’m still a little sick to my stomach from what I saw and heard. I don’t remember any of it myself, even though I should have. Something so traumatic…I was old enough I should have remembered but I didn’t.”

He watched her intently for a moment more, trying to read something on her face. His eyes still searching when he spoke again. “I will tell you more from what I remember in the morning, but I fear sleep is what you need most of all right now. When you wake I’ll tell you everything.”

“Everything?”

Indra nodded slowly and then reached out to touch her forehead where the third eye slept. “Yes, even where this came from. It wasn’t won like the others, but was a gift.” He removed his fingers and then kissed that spot on her forehead. “Now get to bed. Sweet dreams.” 

Sakura’s sleep was dreamless, but in some ways, it was better that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaara, my baby, shows up for a hot second and the brothers get their shot to make up with Sakura. I'm soft for all the found family moments.


	17. Midnight Morning Mart

Shikamaru groaned at the screen in front of him before clicking through the rest of the file Sakura had brought him on the flash drive. It had taken her the better part of a day tearing apart the house looking in all of Kakashi’s usual places before she found something more than just his old lady erotic romance collection.

“Even if this hasn’t been updated since the start, there’s still a ton of personal information on most of these people,” Sakura explained, watching over his shoulder.

“I can see that. It’s unsettling to read about you or Naruto in such a detached third person way. I have a hard time believing Kakashi would have all this on his work computer.”

Sakura glanced up at the couple walking past. They were oblivious as they headed to class but Sakura still tugged her chair closer to where Shikamaru sat at the college cafe table. It was late afternoon and most of the classes were done for the day, but it was still a college with night classes, so the foot traffic never really died down.

“Why would you say that?” she asked.

Shikamaru glanced up from the screen. “Kakashi cared too much about keeping you a secret to have this stuff on file. You said he never told you this stuff about your biological family.”

“He told me they were found, but it was messy and if I didn’t want to pursue it he wouldn’t press me.”

Sakura licked her lips, remembering the first conversation she had with Kakashi after he told her. Back then she had been too afraid of him rejecting her to ever accept the offer. Years later, when she grew more assured of his care for her, she never developed the curiosity to pursue something everyone else saw as a natural curiosity. She didn’t remember them. It was almost like her biological family didn’t exist unless someone mentioned them.

“It might be worth it to look into. The first duelist they identified, Gaara, he was associated with your family. He grew up in the same compound. Maybe he knew you from back then.”

Sakura shivered, remembering the boy’s bloody hands as he watched them from the other side of the library window. “I’d rather not poke that hornet nest. If I can avoid the murder baby, all the better.”

“What was that about a murder baby?” Ino asked, eyes wide as she set down a couple of red and green insulated cups. Sakura reached for one and Shikamaru accepted the other.

“Just another day in the neighborhood, don’t worry about it,” Sakura said, smiling up at her friend. “Thanks for the tea.”

“Thank Choji, he treated. He’s bringing pastries back with Asura for all of us.”

Sakura leaned back in her seat to see where Choji and Asura chatted at the bar. The pair seemed to be getting along just fine, but that wasn’t unusual considering how kind and thoughtful a person Choji was. People who didn’t look past his outward appearance missed out on one of the best friendships a person could ask for.

Ino reached across the table and tugged on the laptop, turning it her way. “Which one is the cutie you got close with, Sakura?” she asked, clicking through the files. “Oh, _this_ one looks like a snack.”

“Utakata is married, home wrecker,” Shikamaru grumbled.

Ino pouted and tilted her head to the side. “Drat, that’s no fun. Who else is left?”

Sakura tapped on Ino’s fingers and then selected Yagura’s file, bringing up his photo. Ino’s eyebrows rose and her lips wrinkled into a suppressed smile. “Oh,” was all she said.

The reaction made Sakura frown. “Oh? Is that all you have to say? What does that mean?”

“He looks like he’s in grade school, honey.” Ino snickered to herself, leaning away to let Shikamaru turn the computer back around. “But at least he dresses well. That looked like a nice suit. Is he rich?”

“Worse, organized crime,” Shikamaru interjected.

“No way!” Ino gasped, eyes wide and lips locked in a wide O shape. “Baby face is a mob lord?”

“Weapons smuggler to be more precise. They’re not able to pin anything on him with any measure of proof, but yeah, he’s from a long line of dirty dealers.” Shikamaru glanced over at Sakura, gauging her expression before speaking. “He’s someone you should avoid. Kakashi would have a heart attack.”

Sakura thought back and hummed to herself. “It….explains his reaction to being inside the police station.”

“Hey, is he loaded? He super rich? Let me see his face again.” Ino cut in, reaching for the laptop again only for Shikamaru to pull it away, complaining about gold digging women.

Asura and Choji came over in time with their warm pastries to join Sakura in her snickering. Ino hadn’t changed much since high school and Sakura wouldn’t have it any other way.

-

There weren’t any more cards that she could detect or knew of, in spite of the swelling moon. Shikamaru suspected that after three showed up together it might take longer for another to spring forth. In the past games, it was recorded how only a couple of cards would show up each month, so the rate at which Sakura was finding them was unprecedented.

“The game also began earlier than expected, so it might be that,” Asura offered.

Eventually November bloomed and faded. Asura and Sakura had been invited to Choji’s home to share Thanksgiving with his family, a holiday the Nara and Yamanaka were always there for. Indra declined making his presence known, opting instead to hide inside his own card and make himself a hand’s reach away should she need his services.

Asura and Choji got along famously, and Choji’s parents joked about adopting both Asura and Sakura into their extended family like they had Shikamaru and Ino. Choji only complained that such a decision was overdue.

“Sakura’s been part of our family for years already,” he said, glancing over the table to where she sat beside Ino. When she smiled his ears flushed pink even as a smile stretched wide across his face.

But the nature of the game wasn’t one to stay passive for long. And so, the week before finals, a new card woke her from a dead sleep as her third eye shut itself.

-

When she sat up in bed the dogs around her stirred, jumping away and dancing around her feet as she staggered.

“Why does it have to be so early in the morning?” she complained out loud. The clock on her nightstand said it was 4:12.

When she looked up Indra was waiting for her in the doorway, being the one more sensitive to such things. “You felt it?” he asked.

Sakura shook her head and then tapped the place where her third eye should be. “I saw it happening. Normally my visions are from the past but…this one is current, there’s no filter to the images and I recognize the decorations that just went up. Can you, can you wake Asura?”

“He’ll want to go with you,” Indra agreed, already turning to do as she asked.

“Both of you will come, won’t you?” Sakura called as he dipped out of sight.

Indra leaned back so she could see his face as he frowned. “I won’t be of much help unless you’re injured.”

“I still want you there.”

He watched her for a moment and she felt the tension in that look. He remembered better than her, that she still hadn’t asked him about her past like she said she would. He had promised after her outburst to tell her everything when she was ready and that hung between them like something physical, growing larger with ever day that Sakura didn’t ask. He seemed ready to talk as soon as she was ready, but the same hesitation that kept her from asking Kakashi about her biological mother kept her silent once more. 

Sakura considered for a moment that maybe he thought she didn’t want to talk to him at all, but that just wasn’t the case, and she needed to make that clear.

“I want you there,” she reiterated, softer and slower. Her eyes didn’t waver, and she knew he had heard her when he inclined his head a fraction of an inch.

“As you wish.” And then he was gone, taking the stairs down two at a time.

Sakura dressed as much as she could before she felt like she was wasting time. She had socks and boots and a coat, so that was good enough for her.

“Where are we going?” Asura asked, meeting her at the base of the stairs, ready to go.

“I saw it manifest outside the old Midnight Morning Mart.” She saw their confused expression and hurried to elaborate. “It’s an old, closed down food store that kids like to stop by and vandalize. It’s a bit on the outskirts of town limits.”

“Lead the way,” Indra cut in, guiding her with his hand to the front porch.

Both boys melted into cards that returned to the marks on her chest before Sakura drew a new one. The Stag manifested and she mounted it with minimal direction. More in tune with her thoughts than her words, the great beast turned in the direction it needed to and Sakura felt the pull of her and it warping to the exact location.

‘Less then ten seconds from porch to pavement,’ she mentally cheered before dismissing the Stag and then resuming both brothers.

From practice on the Nara grounds, Sakura had learned she could control four different cards at a time, and sometimes maintain a fifth card before her control splintered and she lost all of her cards. Shikamaru also had her drilling on switching from one card to the next until she had it down to a reflex that cost her virtually zero time. Asura and Indra were the two cards she could summon the fastest as well as the least mentally and magically draining. 

“Where?” Indra asked, taking up a spot at her flanks protectively.

She didn’t know what card it was, but she saw the silver light coming from inside the ruins of the Midnight Morning Mart. There was something else, standing in front of the light and casting a shadow longer than its total.

“Is that a person?” Asura asked

“Hurry,” Sakura hissed, scrambling for the hole in the fence she remembered from years ago. If there was already another duelist at the sight it meant she might lose the card to them before even having a chance to win it over.

She clawed her way through while Asura and Indra took less time. The front door was left open as she ran for it, grabbing for the crooked handle and using it to help pull her in. She took only a single step before she dropped into a roll that helped her avoid a beam on concentrated magic. Asura screamed her name before springing in front of her, his sword drawn and ready.

“Who?” Sakura coughed, grabbing for Indra who stood ready to help her up, keeping his back to the threat like a shield.

“Unknown,” Indra grunted. “Stay behind us.”

Sakura summoned the wand into her hand and raided it.

“Who are you?” Asura barked, stepping forward with his sword first.

Sakura could see around him only enough to make out the slender frame of a tall, blond girl with beautiful cat shaped eyes. A scattering of silver constellations marked one side of her face and Sakura recognized the girl in an instant.

“Yugito!”

Hearing her name the girl flinched, blue eyes blown wide, likely surprised to face an opponent that already knew of her identity. She was dressed head to toe in black, looking more put together than Sakura by far.

“I don’t know you,” Yugito said. “But it’s no matter. Your cards are mine.”

And Sakura didn’t expect it, so she was surprised when a golden net stretched out into endless criss crosses, turning silver as it fell down on them. Asura threw off what he could before Yugito ran a weapon of her own across his front. Asura turned back into his card form, critically struck, before darting back into Sakura’s chest to glow as regenerating freckles.

Sakura felt a little sick with an injured card inside her, as Shikamaru warned her she would be if ever she was to take an injured Indra or Asura back. They would still drain on her magic while they healed inside of her and count towards her four card limit count.

“Sakura, dismiss me before I become a burden as well!” Indra shouted, eyes wide.

“No, we’re fine!”

Sakura moved what she could of her wrist and reversed the weight of the iron net, sending it up towards the ceiling. A handful of projectiles shot through the air but Indra intercepted them with his body, falling onto Sakura as they stood out of his back. 

“Use the stag to run away,” he coughed, staining her shoulder red.

It had all happened too fast. It hadn’t even been a minute. A handful of seconds later and she was so much of a mess already? After training? After how far she had come? After how desperate she had been to save Kakashi?

Indra shook from the impact of several more projectiles impacting his back. One of them came dangerously close to her face, but Indra tugged her away with the last of his strength.

She screamed his name as he weight went slack on her. Then he was dissolving and she could see through his body to where Yugito readied another round of projectiles from her recursive bow.

Heat tore through Sakura as she melted her wand card into a bow of her own and set it on fire. The string sang as she pulled back and a blazing arrow materialized, perfectly notched.

“I have one of those too,” Sakura growled before she fired.

Yugito ducked in time and shot one more of her bolts, but it went wide and Sakura was able to easily avoid it. Sakura fired several more off before panicking. The flames weren’t going out and she was still inside a building.

The card, where was the card?

It was silver and spinning close to the center of the store. Sakura ran for it and reached, but the side of her hand erupted in pain as a projectile tore flesh free. Sakura screamed and fell to her knees, clutching her hand as it bled. The bow dissolved and she felt the exhaustion tease her.She had summoned so many different cards in quick succession. She would need a few more seconds to gain equilibrium.

But Yugito was over her, weapon ready.

“Take it,” Sakura gasped, crawling back, away from the card. A thin trail of red followed her. “I concede. Take it.”

The blond breathed out, sounding bored as she raised her weapon up. “Why would I go after one card when I could have four?”

Sakura realized what Yugito meant too late.

The bolt discharged but missed by a fraction thanks to something throwing the blonde off balance. Yugito cursed and spun around only for a paw of sand to wrap around her. Sakura watched as a number of her freckles started to glow, but not before the sand pooled into her mouth and nose.

Yugito choked and panicked and it was enough to keep her from summoning anything else as more sand swallowed her up. Sakura was petrified in place as the sand coffin rose up an inch, two inches, six inches, than a foot off the ground before constricting. The bundle turned impossibly thin as a wet crunching sound sprayed blood to the far corners of the store, turning whole isles red as what was left of Yugito’s body fell limp to the ground.

Dead.

Sakura tried to stand but her legs were like jelly and she fell right back down. She couldn’t feel the pain in her hand anymore, but her whole body was a mess of frantic ends she couldn’t control. She felt like she was made out of ribbon as she fell again over herself when she tried to stand.

Yugito’s corpse wasn’t far from her and the sand was still shifting, slithering back towards the front of the store and out the door. She couldn’t see the redhead yet but she knew he was there, just outside.

She needed to get up and run. She needed to get away before Gaara saw her!

‘Sakura.’

She felt Indra’s concern for her and it was enough to get her on her feet. She stumbled down an isle towards the back of the store just as the glass doors were forced out to let Gaara in. Sakura kept running, finding more strength the further she put herself from Gaara. She knew she was loud enough for him to hear where she was, but there were enough turns that she hoped his sand wouldn’t be able to reach her before she was outside.

She fell against the back door and rolled against it enough for it to open and spit her out. She fell onto her knees and then got right back up again, not listening to anything behind her as she reached for one last card. Her body bled white light as she was engulfed in soft swan feathers. She emerged transformed and kicked off the ground, shooting into the sky. She couldn’t hear anything over the rush of blood in her ears as she flew over the tree tops and climbed higher and higher, too high for his sand to reach. She didn’t care if anyone saw, she knew she was fast enough to get away. Mounting the Stag would take too long.

She twisted through the air and with every rotation she gained speed. She was a corkscrew through the night sky, shooting faster than moonlight for the safety of her own home.

_From an impossible height the small boy tumbled and landed with a wet sound._

_The bundle turned impossibly thin as a wet crunching sound sprayed blood to the far corners of the store…_

_A wet sound_

_A wet crunching sound_

_Wet_

_Crunch_

_Splat_

Sakura came out of her spiral and grazed her shoulder on the rough needles of a conifer tree. She fell into a bundle of needly branches before sliding down those and landing on her feet, then her knees as the last of her magic evaporated.

She panted in the dirt outside her house, shaking all over with a cold sweat in spite of the cold night air. She was back in her boots and jacket, her left hand bleeding from where Yugito shot her. When she stood she realized she was still dizzy from going through too many cards and fell against the tree. The cold showed when she panted as her breath made clouds.

_Crunch_

_Splat_

_Crunch_

_Splat_

Her stomach turned so she emptied it onto the earth beside her. She retched again until there was just bile left. Sakura shut her eyes and squeezed them tight until there were lights behind her eyelids. She kept panting even after her body had rested enough. Her heart still hammered in her chest. Her face was wet and the tears stung from the chill.

Too much time passed before she was able to pull herself up and crawl into her house. Her nightshirt was ruined with blood, but she kept it tight around the wound until she had what she needed to clean and treat the wound.

The rest of her would need a lot more time to recover. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY! So I'm super sorry about forgetting to post this last week. I uploaded it extra early as a draft and forgot to go through the last step and publish it, (I saw the chapter from the drop down menu and though 'oh yeah, there it is' like a dumb-dumb). I messed up. Sorry. 
> 
> To make up for it...death and damage. Yay.


	18. Sleep

It seemed like days, but it was really only hours later when Choji and Shikamaru showed up at her house and let themselves in. She heard them calling for her but she couldn’t manage the strength to pull herself up or call back to them, so she stayed inside the downstairs bathtub with her bandaged hand crossed over her chest. That’s how Choji found her. She didn’t even care that he caught her in her bra and bloody pj bottoms. He screamed for Shikamaru to help him and together they hauled her out of the tub and onto a couch.

“She’s so cold,” Choji worried as Shikamaru tore a fleece throw off the back of a chair.

The dogs that had been barking at her from outside the bathroom door all crowded around her, whining anxiously for her to respond. She could feel them licking and pushing against her but knew she didn’t reacted.

Sakura felt detached, like she was watching what happened to her from some third person perspective.

“She’s in shock,” Shikamaru explained. “Where are those two?”

Choji pulled the fleece tighter around her and then threw his jacket over her for good measure. “She’s still shivering. Sakura, Sakura can you hear me?”

Shikamaru touched her face and turned her towards him. He cursed when he saw how glassy her eyes were. “She’s still in shock. If those two are gone it must have been bad. Is her hand okay?”

“It was bandaged and didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore. We’ll check it later to make sure she cleaned it,” Choji said.

“If she was pulled together enough to bandage it she cleaned it. Sakura?” When she didn’t respond Shikamaru turned to Choji and spoke. “Can you make her something warm to drink? That might help.”

Choji was gone with a nod and reemerged a few minutes later with a warm spiced cider in her favorite mug. He held it up to her lips and the warm touch made Sakura startle.

“Sakura?” Choji called, sounding hopeful.

She blinked and then moved her head into a nod. “Choji. Shikamaru.” Her Golden Retriever barked and she looked towards the dog. “Ginger.”

“That’s good enough for me, now drink and warm up.” Choji supported the back of her head with his hand and tipped the mug back so she could drink. Each sip seemed to fill her bones with more strength. 

“What happened? Were you there at the mart?” Choji asked in a worried voice.

Shikamaru made a sound of disgust. “You really think she wasn’t?”

Choji glared at his friend before turning back at Sakura and calling her name again. “Were you?”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah. I was there.” She swallowed another mouthful of cider before adding. “I didn’t get the card.”

“There are others in the game. Don’t worry about one little card,” Shikamaru huffed. “Who hurt you?”

Sakura remembered her hand and glanced down under the blanket at it. “It was Yugito. She was there ahead of me and I…I tried to beat her to the card. She wasn’t even interested in it.”

“Yugito?” Shikamaru echoed. “She’s not been sighted in our town recently. She’s supposedly prepped for this sort of stuff. In her record it said she had extensive survival training as a recreational pastime. She’d be one to watch out for.”

“_No_.”

Both boys stilled at how sharp Sakura’s voice turned.

“No use watching out for her. She’s dead.”

Shikamaru and Choji shared a look. “How did that happen?” Shikamaru asked.

_Crunch_

_Splat_

Sakura blinked and took a steadying breath. “Gaara. He showed up and-before Yugito could kill me he-” Sakura’s voice ended in a shuddering breath. Choji moved closer to throw an arm around her shoulders and tug her against his side as she started silently crying again. His body heat helped as she started to curl in on herself.

“Enough questions,” Choji whispered over her head.

“The police have already found the site. We need to know what happened to-”

“_Enough_ questions,” Choji repeated, tone sharp enough to leave no room for argument. Shikamaru leaned back in his seat and nodded in agreement, absently reaching down to pick up Sakura’s Jack Russell Terrier and cradle. Chainsaw wriggled, wanting to be free, but Shikamaru held on.

“Ino is on her way. What should I tell her?” Shikamaru asked, glancing between Sakura and Choji. “Do you feel okay for more company, Sakura?”

“Ino isn’t company,” Sakura muttered. “She’s family.”

Choji quietly chuckled, pulling her closer.“We got you from here. Anyone else you need to alert?”

Sakura shook her head and went near boneless in Choji’s arms, feeling too much like a kid on a giant teddy bear. Choji even smelled good.

“I can make toast, I’ll go do that,” Shikamaru murmured before getting up to use her kitchen.

It was normally Choji who made sure everyone was fed, but he didn’t seem willing to let go of Sakura or leave her anytime soon. He held her without a word until she stirred at the smell of warm bread.

“Feeling better?” Choji asked.

“A little,” she admitted weakly. “I’m not as dizzy I guess.”

“That’s good,” Choji said, watching her. “What about Asura and Indra? Are they both somewhere else?”

Sakura touched the freckles under her blanket. “Yugito hurt both of them too much and they were sent back. I think they’re nearly finished healing, but I’m not sure. This hasn’t happened before.”

“You’re safe, that’s most important. They will heal as long as you rest. You come first and I’m sure if they could hear us, they’d say the same exact thing.”

Sakura snickered, feeling a little chastised. Choji sounded like what she imagined a mom would sound like when he worried over his friends.

The front door opened and closed and the dogs ran to greet Ino as she stomped through the living room, making a beeline for Sakura. Ino reached for Sakura’s face with her hands and held it up, bringing her own forehead down to bump against Sakura’s.

“I’m alive,” Sakura groaned, anticipating the shrill fretting that was sure to come next.

“Alive is a very low bar and you’re barely meeting it from what I hear. You look like death warmed over. What are you wearing?” Ino tugged the blanket open enough to see Sakura in her underwear and gasped before tugging Sakura closer.

Choji’s eyes went wide as he offered up his hands in figurative surrender. “I-we didn’t!” he stuttered, leaning away form Ino’s glare. From the kitchen the toaster popped. “I-I’m helping with breakfast.”

Ino huffed before tugging Sakura onto her feet. “We can bring you food in bed, but you need a _bed_. You are cold and pale and I’m willing to bet you slept terribly last night for a whole three hours. Don’t shake your head at me, we’re going to bed!”

“Can’t I just sleep on the couch,” Sakura whined as she stumbled alongside Ino towards the stairs.

“No, because this house is going to get noisy. Also, when the police show up to check in on you it’s easier to say you’re sick if you’re out of sight.” Ino grabbed Sakura by the hip and helped her up the stairs one at a time.

Sakura dropped the throw from her shoulders and let her pj bottoms drop as she walked out of them, crawling under her covers in her underwear while ignoring the frustrated sounds of her friend.

Ino kicked the dirty pants to the side and began riffling through a drawer from her dresser, looking for something clean to sleep in. “I’m going to have to chew the boys out for taking an eyeful later. I don’t like doing that.”

“Liar,” Sakura yawned. “That’s your favorite thing to do.”

“You think I’m made out of endless berating energy? No. And-hey, don’t fall asleep yet. I want you to slip this on. Do you need help? Your hand looks stiff.”

“It’s fine,” Sakura said, accepting the nightshirt without complaint. “I just can’t summon either of the boys to help heal it.”

“Have you tried?”

Ino took a seat at the foot of Sakura’s bed as Ginger and Mop sat down on the floor next to the bed. Ino began to scratch mop behind the ears and the Irish wolfhound began to relax into her touch.

Sakura tugged the shirt into place before facing her friend. “No, I haven’t tried yet but I don’t feel full. I doubt it would be a smart idea to try.”

“I don’t know. A car can still run on half a tank of gas. Indra should look at that hand of yours at least,” Ino said. “Try it.”

Sakura made a face at the analogy but closed her eyes to better concentrate. She felt her magic pools, low but not empty, and tapped into them. She felt Indra and then Asura, both who had been hurt and were recovering. Neither boy was in perfect shape but when she reached for them, they reached back. Sakura opened her eyes and they were in front of her, dirty and ragged but whole.

“You’re okay,” she gasped, nearly pitching forward as the room spun around her.

“Your hand,” Asura gasped even as his brother knelt to look it over.

Indra cut through the messy bandages and saw the wound. A chunk of flesh was missing and would likely result in a permeant deformity without the proper magical attention. Indra bent his head over her hand and the wound glowed before filling with new flesh. Sakura felt warmth and watched as all evidence of injury was washed away.

“Indra, you’re okay,” Sakura whispered before closing her eyes. The room was still spinning for her.

Indra looked up and frowned before touching her shoulders and guiding her back down into her pillows. “You’re exhausted. No more words. You need sleep.”

“But…”

“Listen to him,” Ino cut in. “You still look like crap. We’ll be here when you wake up. No one’s going anywhere soon.”

Sakura glanced up and saw Ino. The blonde had a stubborn curve in her too-thin smile. It was one Sakura recognized and knew to not fight against. Ino was a little bit too good at being bossy when she wanted to be.

Sakura’s limbs felt numb all over and she would need more than her best effort to sway Ino, so Sakura just fall back and closed her eyes. “You win,” she sighed before letting her head drop to one side.

“I knew I would. You two can come downstairs with me and help us with the blow by blow.”

Asura stood first, holding her hand so he could squeeze it. When she met his eyes he let go too quickly and turned to follow Ino out, avoiding her gaze. Indra crouched down next to her bedside, acing her fully.

“I’m sorry I didn’t do better,” Sakura laughed, knowing how pitiful she probably sounded. Kakashi would have berated her for it if he could hear her.

“You know you did the best you possibly could,” Indra whispered. “I’ll always be proud of you. Nothing could change that. Rest now.”

Sakura listened as long as she could, feeling too sick to comfortably fall asleep. Ino was leading the boys down the stairs, complaining about having to yell at Choji and Shikamaru for what they saw…whatever that meant. Eventually they were too far away to hear anymore, and sleep, as uncomfortable as it felt, finally won over.

-

Downstairs Shikamaru and Choji nursed light bumps on the sides of their heads with varying degrees of shame. Choji couldn’t meet Ino’s eyes while Shikamaru glared openly.

“Damn it woman, I told you it wasn’t on purpose!”

“Doesn’t matter, does it?” Ino huffed, eyeing Choji purposefully. “You know what you did.”

“We’re sorry,” Choji sniffed.

Shikamaru snapped, “It’s not like we took advantage of her. She got a blanket and everything. Sorry if we were a little more concerned with keeping her alive than preserving her innocence.”

“And that’s the only reason you’re getting off as light as you are. Don’t think I don’t know better.” Ino crossed her arms over her chest and looked back at the pair of brothers who stood awkwardly in the kitchen, listening along.

“Know better?” Indra echoed, tone confused.

Ino waved her hand over her shoulder before gesturing to Shikamaru and Choji. “Its an open secret around these parts. Literally everyone has had a crush on Sakura for some amount of time in their life.”

“She’s our friend!” Choji exclaimed, turning red all over. “It’s not like that!”

Ino glanced back over her shoulder with a no-nonsense expression. “Not to say those crushes all stuck, but almost everyone we know experienced it at one point in time, including these two.”

“Isn’t this an example of the pot calling the kettle black?” Shikamaru grumbled, glaring at Ino.

“It’s different for us pure girls, who see beyond the superficial to the maiden’s heart!” She coughed into her hand before adding, “Plus, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“You’re the worst,” Shikamaru huffed, leaning back in his seat. “Pervert.”

Ino rolled her blue eyes skyward and rolled her shoulders, pretending not to care. “Please, sticks and stones babe. And it’s not like I’m _Karin_. Oh, speaking of the witch…” Ino produced her phone and opened her messenger app. “I was just talking with her before all this. She’s nearly ready to defect. Should we press our luck?”

“What are you talking about?” Indra asked while Asura stayed quiet in the corner, listening.

“Things have been super tense at the Uzamaki house and this might be the opportunity we were hoping for to push one more ally into our corner. Menma is keeping Naruto locked down, but Karin isn’t untouchable.”

“What are you hoping to achieve? Can she provide you with any additional tactical advantage?” Indra asked.

“No, nothing like that,” Shikamaru snorted. “She’s just Sakura’s friend and it would be nice if Sakura didn’t feel so bad about this falling out. It’d just be nice, I guess. It doesn’t have to be tactical to be worth following up with.”

“There’s no reason they still can’t hang out and be friendly,” Choji added, still sounding sorry. “It’s _Sakura_ we’re talking about. The mayor doesn’t know what he’s talking about when he says he can’t trust her.” 

“True,” Indra added, eyeing his brother before adding, “but it isn’t unwise to be extra cautious considering how ruthless some of the other duelists have been. Several have already been murdered, the latest of which happened right in front of Sakura.”

Shikamaru frowned before pulling out his laptop and powering it on. The screen flickered to life and after a couple of passwords he was back into the encrypted files. “Can you tell me what sort of abilities Gaara might have now that he defeated Yugito? What did you see during your fight?”

“She had at least one card ability, a silver one that created a net,” Indra said.

“The fourteenth silver card, formally from the red deck, The Net,” Asura stated automatically. “It’s purpose was to incapacitate multiple targets at once.”

Shikamaru updated a file. “What else?”

“Her other attacks were not from cards. She had her own weapons and was well trained in their use,” Indra said.

“That might lend some credibility to this theory Kakashi was working on about her having been prepped for these games like Gaara was. _Tch_. Messed up cults.”

Shikamaru breathed out before clicking through the files to a new document with four sets of lists, each one sporadically filled in. He went to the list marked SILVER and typed on the 14th line.

“How is she doing?” Shikamaru asked out loud while still typing.

Ino hummed suggestively, causing the Nara to fumble over the keys and blush. “She’ll be fine. It’s Sakura. She’s the best person I know to tackle this sort of shit storm.”

Indra nodded along. “She is resilient to have come this far as quickly as she has.”

“Yup,” Ino said, popping the ‘P’ sound with her lips while multitasking on her phone.

Asura pushed up off the edge of the counter and turned to head out. Indra watched his brother go without moving until he saw Asura turn towards the stairs. No one else moved, having no way of seeing from their vantage point, leaving Indra to make the quick track himself. He took the stairs two at a time and caught up to his brother at the top, grabbing Asura from behind and pushing him against the wall as quietly as possible while still being rough.

“What are you doing?” Indra growled.

Asura glared right back, eyes darker and angrier than usual. Being the brother who was younger, easy going, and natural the airhead, it had always been Asura who wanted peace between them. It had always been Asura who made the effort to reach out to his brother and try to mend those broken bridges. But this time Asura pushed back, his face twisted in dark shades of loathing as he glared up at his brother through his bangs.

“Don’t touch me,” he snarled.

“Asura,” Indra chastised. “You’re making more trouble being up here. We’re supposed to let her sleep. She needs it.”

“I wasn’t going to wake her,” Asura hissed, keeping his voice low and sharp. “I just wanted to check in on her. Don’t get in my way.”

“Leave her alone.”

Asura’s eyes flashed. “You’ve no right to keep me from her. She’s my duelist too.”

Asura tried to step around his brother but Indra blocked the way, moving to keep Asura back. “I have every right,” Indra hissed back. “She was my duelist first, and I am her healer. You came later.”

“That doesn’t matter now.”

Asura tried sidestepping his brother again, unsuccessfully. Indra moved to block the way and pushed Asura back into a side room, the one Kakashi had designated for overflow junk. Asura stumbled a bit from being shoved, but before he could recover Indra closed the door behind them and turned the lock.

“You can’t keep me from her. I’m a part of her now too, just like you,” Asura mocked. “You think just because you were first you deserve everything? Typical big brother Indra, never one to share were you?”

“You’ve always pissed me off with that attitude of yours. This isn’t just about Sakura. Even when it came to father you were this entitled, asking for your inheritance before it was time so that you could leave home and travel with friends. You’re a spoiled brat that only knows how to come back broke and empty and ask for more.” Indra’s eyes flashed red as he advanced. “But I won’t let Sakura make the same mistake father made.”

“That’s rich, you saying our precious father made a mistake? I thought you were supposed to be the perfect first born son who could do no wrong? You were just jealous of me, weren’t you? You didn’t want me to be your equal,” Asura accused.

“You were never my equal,” Indra snapped. “You never committed yourself like I did, you never sacrificed for the family like I did. I stayed. I was faithful. I was first but that didn’t matter to father. All he could see when you came back was your pitiful self, seeking to be spoiled again. Sakura won’t be taken advantage of like that. I’ll protect her from you if I have to.”

“This and that aren’t the same matter. I’m going to protect Sakura too!” Asura gasped, sounding almost scared.

“You couldn’t when it mattered, though.”

Asura didn’t say anything back. Indra stood blocking the path to the door and there was nothing but boxes of junk around them, but that didn’t keep Asura from remembering what had happened only hours ago, when the world was still dark. He could picture it perfectly, how in a matter of seconds he went from being her sword to a drain on her energies. He hadn’t helped at all. How was he supposed to ask for her help when all he could do was put her in more danger? 

In a whoosh all the angry energy drained out of him, leaving Asura feeling deflated and tired. “Please, let me through. I just want to see her.”

Indra exhaled and his shoulders seemed to ease up. “No, she needs her sleep. Don’t disturb her this time. When she wakes we can see her together.”

“Please,” Asura implored, sounding like his voice was caught in a sob. “I-I need to see her. Please.”

“You just saw her. Wait and-” Indra’s words cut off sharply when he saw Asura sink to his knees and stretch his arms out in a formal bow that brought his head to the floor. Indra kept his words to himself as he watched his brother humble himself.

“Please,” Asura whispered into the wood grains of the floor. “Please let me see her. I just need to see her. I can’t explain it, why it’s so important to me, it just _is_. She’s in that bed because of me, because I _failed_ her. I don’t care if she releases me from my card, I just want to see her safe.”

The mention of their card contract made Indra stiffen. It was something neither spoke about out loud, and something neither was willing to tell Sakura about, even though she was the only one with the power to do so before the games ended. It was likely what every trapped soul wanted more than anything.

“You were hoping she would have freed you from the Chalice,” Indra guessed.

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Asura asked, still bowed.

“Maybe…once, but that was before.”

At the sound of the lock clicking open Asura looked up sharply. Indra stood next to the open door, leaving enough room for his brother to pass by. Asura stood to exit, but before he could pass his brother Indra caught his elbow.

“What?”

“Just look. She still needs rest.”

“I got it! I wasn’t going to disturb her. I want her to get better too.”

Indra let go of Asura’s arm and the younger brother shrugged free to cross the hallway and stop outside Sakura’s room. The door was left open ajar. Asura pushed it open but stopped on the threshold.

Indra watched his brother, feeling tight in his chest as Asura’s features melted into something soft and charming. If Sakura were to wake up and see him she would no doubt be pleased to know he cared for her. After all, he had been the first card she awakened and summoned. Why wouldn’t she be pleased?

Indra turned away, a bit disgusted with the feelings he wrestled down in his chest. He thought he had already dealt with all his stupid jealousies long ago. Everyone always liked Asura more, and that was just a fact. They were brothers, but Asura was the outgoing one that people wanted to talk to and be around.

‘_Even father_.’

He tried to tell himself it didn’t matter if Sakura had forgotten about him. He knew it would be a long shot after she nearly drowned as a child, back when Kakashi first found her, and all her memories of the compound piled up behind a mental barrier. She had been traumatized and he wanted her safe, so it didn’t matter she couldn’t remember. He told himself that his first summoning didn’t have to be special and he was happy she kept him out at all when he wasn’t being utilized. He told her it was fine that she hadn’t asked him about their past. It was fine.

It was fine.

A thousand years ago with a different family and a different set of circumstances Indra might have thought differently, but….

_“I want you there,”_

The pain in his heart was back but he didn’t flinch away from it. He closed his eyes and let the sensation persist. Even if it hurt, he wanted to feel it; he wanted to feel everything she gave him.

The crunch of gravel broke him free and he frowned, moving around the stairs to look out the window and see down the driveway. A police cruiser had pulled up and Guy was climbing out with Yamato. Yamato turned around and opened up the back to let a redhead out. Indra recognized the woman right away. They had been talking about her earlier….Sakura’s friend.

Indra met Asura on the stairs and the pair of them appeared behind Choji and Shikamaru as Ino moved towards the door.

“What’s going on?” Asura asked.

“Karin,” Shikamaru grumbled. “Sometime feels off about all this but she contacted Ino and said she had something important she had to tell us after she heard about Sakura.”

“You don’t trust her?” Indra guessed.

“Let’s just see,” Choji said.

Ino opened the front door and greeted them all before moving to the side to let Guy, Yamato, and Karin all inside.

“Sakura is still sleeping, but you can make yourself comfortable in the living room.”

“We’re still getting around to interviewing other potential witnesses,” Yamato said, glancing up the stairs. “There’s no rush.”

Karin moved into the living room but didn’t sit, instead she found a spot by the television and stayed standing while everyone else filed in. She caught Ino by the elbow and pulled her close, but not too close than her words were unheard.

“Is she okay?” Karin asked.

“She’ll be just fine,” Ino assured her. “She’s just super stressed about all this. How are you holding up? It sounded pretty crazy on your end.”

“Uncle is doing a good job of keeping those beasts out, but Naruto isn’t doing too well. He’s angry at his dad but also super scared because no one is telling him anything. That’s why I’m here.”

“You’re referring to the unawakened duelist,” Indra interjected. “As long as he remains with his marks unactivated the enforcers will not cease.”

Karin looked up at the two brothers, eyes a little wider as she took in the sight of both of them, now finally dressed in normal cloths but still somehow radiating otherworldliness.

“Yeah, I’m talking about Naruto. Menma and I want to try and get him out. We need Sakura’s help for it.”

Indra stiffened. “She’s not in the condition to risk her neck for others.”

“It’s not stopped her before,” Shikamaru muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. “You said you had something to trade? Apparently it’s so important you needed armed guards. No offense, Guy.”

Guy just chuckled while Yamato bristled. It seemed Shikamaru was planning on treating the younger officer coldly for some reason.

“Yeah. After this some things are going to accelerate,” Karin said before nodding to Guy and Yamato. “I told them first and they helped me get here. It’s about the woman who first trapped Kakashi with a curse inside a card.”

“Anko,” Guy clarified, voice turning hard.

“She’s the one who started this whole mess,” Shikamaru grumbled. “She was involved with the last game along with my dad and the others, including Kakashi.”

Karin nodded slowly before glancing around the room. Her eyes searched desperately for someone that wasn’t there before landing on Shikamaru. “Yeah, Anko, I know her. Before this all started, about three months ago, she came to the house to meet with Uncle.”


	19. The Lock

“So, do you think we can trust her?” Asura asked.

Sakura didn’t answer, but kept walking. The manor was looming in the near distance, growing larger every minute until they passed the gatehouse into the courtyard. Sakura pushed open the front doors, heavy and polished as they were, and let Asura and Indra follow in after her. Mop, Ginger, Chainsaw and Bagel trotted in between their ankles, purposefully obstructing the way in hopes of provoking the boys into playing.

Once the heavy doors closed behind Sakura she saved against them and faced the brothers. “We can talk here.”

“The girl who came yesterday,” Asura clarified, “is she someone trustworthy?”

“Do you think she’s being honest with you?” Indra added.

“Karin isn’t lying to me,” Sakura answered easily.

“But is she someone you can trust? What if she is being lied to by her uncle? What if its all a trap and she doesn’t even know any better?” Asura pressed, moving so that Asura could pass him on her way to the staircase.

“Frankly, none of that matters. My friend came to me and asked me for help freeing another friend from an unhealthy environment. Even if she was lying about some things, or even if she was tricked about other things, she’s my friend and I can’t ignore her.”

“Why not? _She_ ignored _you_.”

Sakura turned on the stairs to meet Indra’s challenging expression. He didn’t seem accusatory, but she could tell he wasn’t thrilled about her decision to go along with Karin’s plan. “Yeah, and that’s how I know how sucky it can be. I’m not going to do that to her or anyone else. Naruto also needs me, and it’s not _his_ fault he’s being locked up by his crazy dad.”

“I doubt he will be much help to you as an alley in the games,” Indra said, sounding almost like he was pouting, though his expressions din’t break or favor.

Sakura barked out a laugh before she could help herself, slapping a hand over her mouth as her eyes sparkled in mirth. “No shit,” she laughed into her fingers. “Even if he had a dozen different marks he’d be shit at using them. It’s _Naruto_!” Sakura laughed again and turned around to climb up the rest of the stairs to the second level.

“You’re not planning on making him an alley, then?” Asura asked, trotting up the stairs to catch up with her.

“Not in the sense you’re thinking about it. Naruto is my _friend_. I’m protecting him and helping him out with all I’ve got. I’m not looking for anything in compensation.”

“So what are we doing here?” Asura asked as he followed her into one of the bedrooms. Indra hesitated at the threshold, but followed Asura in along with the rest of the dogs.

Sakura had started to prepare the fireplace along with Asura’s help, and in no time the flames were licking up the sides of a pair of red wood logs. There were a pair of extra blankets on the bed Sakura pulled down to toss onto the fur rug in front of the fireplace. She wrapped herself up in one and then waved at the other two gesturing for Asura and Indra to join her on the carpet.

“We can talk here and be sure there’s no one to overhear us here. Before I get too deep into anypans to save my friends, I wanted to ask…about my past.” She looked up at Indra, green eyes wide and open. “Please.”

Indra took the offered blanket and sat down. He didn’t glance to the side as Asura joined him on the carpet in front of the fire.

“To begin, you were born after your brother, and while you bore my mark, your brother was born with Asura’s,” Indra began.

Sakura leaned in, pulling the blanket around her as Mop stretched out between them and rolled onto his back for belly scratches. Asura absently played with Bagel’s ears, listening.

“Your family lived somewhere very remote, north of here I think. It was intentional, as they wanted to be as far removed from society as possible.”

“You can remember all that?” Sakura asked in a whisper.

“The details are only so clear when they directly pertain to you, but I’m confident in my recollection,” Indra said.

Beside them Asura chuckled and then leaned in closer to Sakura. Indra shook his head at his brother but Asura just ginned and leaned even closer to Sakura, happy to be disobedient.

“As I was saying,” Indra continued. “Your brother was born with Asura so the others at the compound thought he would be the one chosen to inherit the saved marks. Apart from you two there was a boy a year younger and his uncle who were both born with marks, though the uncle was closer to thirteen.”

“Do you remember any of this?” Asura asked, nearly at her elbow for how close he had leaned in.

Sakura shook her head. “Do you?”

Asura frowned. “Not as well as Indra. I have absolutely no memory before I was transferred to you and things after that are just gradually less foggy.”

“As I was saying,” Indra interrupted, sending a cold look his brother’s way, “there were four of you with marks and the plan was to preload one of you with marks. I believe you’ve mentioned seeing this before in one of your visions.”

Sakura recalled how a boy was brought down to the basement of the manor and seemed with a new smattering of freckles in the shape of a constellation. “I’ve seen it done. Is it common?”

“No, and if I understand my history correctly, it is both rare and difficult. Maybe that’s one of the reasons your family was so paranoid and secluded. As you know already, your brother died in an accident and you took on his marks, becoming the most well suited child to be preloaded. Asura was a formidable card, more so than myself, they thought. More so than the other two children, you were selected to be preloaded with a single card to test your compatibility.”

Indra broke off his story to reach out and tap the center of her forehead. Sakura felt a pulse of power below the surface and knew it would open if she pushed it to.

“I had always thought this was the mark I was born with.”

“It is a rare and powerful card, the eye. But for as rare and powerful, it is a heavy burden,” Indra said, expression turning cold. “You did not come out of the transference ritual unscathed. The eye nearly destroyed your underdeveloped mind and as a result, there were accidents that led to your escape.”

“Escape?” Sakura echoed in surprise. “I ran away?”

“You didn’t know what you were doing at the time, but you acted on instinct. There were those who thought you unfit for your cards and wanted to transfer them to another. In your frenzy you still understood what this meant so you ran.”

Sakura swallowed, grabbing her elbows. “Why didn’t anyone try to find me? I-I mean even if not for my sake, it sounds like they wanted the cards inside of me.”

Asura pulled back a little and glanced from Sakura to his brother, frowning.

“They tried,” Indra said. “But they could do little with the state you left them in. The compound nearly burned to the ground in black fire and the woods were thick and dark. Try as they might, you got away.”

Sakura felt tired in her bones as she forced the next few words out. “And Kakashi knew all this?”

“Not at first. He knew the eye would give you trouble so he sealed it, and then he kept you hidden as best he could for a while until he could ascertain the status of your family in the compound. I can’t be sure what happened after that, as it became harder to see and hear and know.” Indra glanced down at his hands and frowned. “By then I think they had moved on, but I can’t be sure. What I know for sure is only what happened around you.”

“Does hearing about your past help you remember it?” Asura asked.

Sakura started to shake her head but then she stopped. Chewing on a corner of her lip she looked up at Asura and then Indra. “Checkers?”

“What?” both brother echoed at the same time.

“I-it’s the only thing I think I remember. I can’t recall anything else, but I remember wanting to play checkers. Was that something I did with my brother?”

“You weren’t close with him,” Indra huffed. “You chased after him and adored the ground he walked on, but he thought you annoying. The day he died, he had been trying to get away from you.”

“Oh.” Sakura dropped her head and Mop whined for more pets, rolling closer to her. She reached to scratch his belly, earning a happy sigh from the Irish wolfhound.

“His loss,” Asura loudly interjected. “I bet little Sakura was super cute. Only a stupid jerk would want to run away from someone so cute.”

“Objectively speaking, you were adorable,” Indra added sagely.

Sakura barked out a single laugh before she realized what she had done. She hurried to cover her mouth with her shoulder, hiding her face as she ducked out of view. “Now I know you’re being silly,” she chuckled into her arm.

“It was harder to hear or see anything after Kakashi sealed us all away, but I know before that you were someone adults liked to dote on. The other child, the one younger than you, especially seemed fond of you,” Indra added.

“What was his name?” Sakura asked.

Indra opened his mouth but then closed it, blinking in surprise. “I…I can’t recall. That’s odd. I was sure I remembered everything perfectly. I can’t even remember what he looked like.”

“But he had a card he was born with, right?” Sakura asked. When Indra nodded she went on, “So, is there a change he was one of the duelists I already encountered? Yagura perhaps?”

Indra shook his head no. “I would have recognized him when we met.”

“You sure?” Asura huffed. “You can’t even remember what he looks like now.”

“Enough harping,” Indra all but growled.

“It’s not important right now. Can we talk about the Naruto plan?”

Asura nodded along while Indramoved in closer. Together the three wove together a plan that only Sakura was absolutely comfortable with. Asura and Indra didn’t like her putting herself in so much direct risk, but eve if it wasn’t favorable, it was for a friend, so it was worth it to Sakura.

“And it’s not like the two of you would let anything truly terrible happen, right?” She cheered, face bright with trust. It made Asura laugh and Indra melt a little on the inside.

“Of course not,” Asura replied, voice light enough to distract from the way his fists grabbed into the blankets under them, turning his knuckles white. “Never.”

“We’ll always keep you safe,” Indra added, knowing how deep the devotion ran in both of them.

“I know,” Sakura said with a smile.

-

And the rest of the week eased into a final Friday, so apply named because it was the Friday Sakura needed to take her last final on, and she wasn’t the only one. Ino had stayed along with Karin the night before, to help study for their own end of the semester tests. In the mess of all the things Sakura had been concerned with, she almost forgot about her academics.

Almost.

She had gone in confident and left feeling less so. It would be okay, she did her best and she knew that if things had been different, she might have felt better, but there was no way the drama of the games, the headache of new memories, and the fresh trauma of seeing a firsthand death wouldn’t impact her in some way. All things considered, she probably did great.

Sakura glanced down at her phone and then replaced it again. Naruto’s final had started forty minutes ago. She doubted he was close to finishing, but she started to cross the sprawling campus anyway, figuring she could hang out on the side she never needed to visit.

There was an unusual sort of electricity in the air that made her pause, hands deep in her jacket pockets. She went utterly still and realized what that hum meant. There was a reason no one else was outside, walking in between the buildings. There should have been dozens of bodies out and about, even on the last Friday of the semester.

Sakura forced her feet to move. Asura and Indra warmed and she moved one hand to cover their freckles, feeling their heat. She would be careful, but she wouldn’t be neglectful. If Gaara or someone else was around the card she would run. She didn’t have the stomach to kill another or the grit to fight for her life.

‘_That’s what we’re here for_,’ Asura whispered in her mind.

She rounded a corner and came out, seeing an old twisted tree growing out of a mount of grass in the midst of sidewalk. She remembered it vaguely, as a place people would sit under and eat lunch with. But there was no one now, no on and nothing except the dull pulsating card that rotated on a bent axis in front of the tree. She could see the silver scroll from where she stood.

_The Lock_

There was no on else around so Sakura surged, letting her feet carry her towards the card. She reached out and touched it and the feat that raced up her fingertips was familiar. 

The world was filled with doors that floated free and weightless with no walls, floor, or ceiling in sight. When Sakura walked it felt like trudging through heavy sand. The first door she reached was unlocked but swung open on an empty doorframe, leading nowhere. She tried another door and found the same issue.

“Asura, Indra?” she called.

A moment later both males stood alongside her.

“What do you think it is?” Indra asked her, suspecting her of having an idea right away.

“I think I have to find the locked door. I’m not sure, but none of these doors are giving me any resistance. The opposite of an unlocked door is a….”

“Locked one!” Asura cut in, expression lighting up.

“We can help look,” Indra said before turning off to head away from her towards a new cluster of floating doors.

Asura cheered and ran off in the opposite direction, leaving Sakura to forge ahead on her own. Door after door opened easily enough for her, but before too long Indra found one that wouldn’t open and called to her then. The three of them converged at the locked door, finding it secure enough to resist even Asura’s tugging.

“It’s the locked door you were searching for. How will you open it now?” Indra asked.

Sakura grumbled and started to dig into her pockets, finding an old gum wrapper, a paperclip, and a sticker that had been in her pocket the last time her jeans had been through the wash.

“If I had some better tools this might go easier,” Sakura complained while unbending the paperclip and adding it to a bobby pin she had in her hair. 

“You’re going to try and pick the lock?” Asura guessed. “You know how to do that?”

“I lived with Kakashi for over twelve years, of course I know how to pick a lock. He also made sure I knew how to hot wire a car if it ever became necessary. For a police chief he was pretty big on personal justice.”

“It would seem so,” Indra added, shooting a look over Sakura’s head to his brother before standing off to the side to allow her better access to the door.

“You’re full of surprises,” Asura laughed. “I enjoy learning each and every one.”

His words caused Sakura to snicker over her tools. “I’m glad you think that way, but this isn’t anything worth praising. If you had been drilled by Kakashi as long as me, you’d be able to do this too.”

“He taught you so well because he cared for you and valued your safety and well being,” Indra added. “He must have also trusted you a great deal to partake such knowledge.”

“I think so,” she answered.

Sakura crouched down in front of the lock and tried with her meager tools to manipulate the pins of the lock in such a way that she could trigger the right combination to undo its latch. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t quick, but time didn’t move the same way inside a card, so Sakura had hours upon hours to try.

Thankfully, she didn’t even need a full sixty minutes before the door unlatched and the world spilled open with new light. A symbol on the door made out of stars lit up before Sakura felt it burn on the back of her left thigh.

And then everything was new again.

The world was a rush of settling colors as Sakura stumbled away from the tree, tripping over her own feet, only to have Asura catch her to keep her from falling.

“How do you feel?” Indra asked, kneeling beside her when Asura lowered her down.

“I’m a little dizzy, but I think that’s because of the light show. My eyes need a second.” Sakura rubbed the palms of her hands into her eyes and groaned. “I’ll be fine.”

“You did amazing,” Asura cheered at her elbow. “You seem to know how to do everything. Kakashi was really dedicated to imparting his skills to you, wasn’t he?”

“Everyone said he was paranoid,” Sakura said.

She recalled all the weekendsin the woods at their cabin where he made sure she could put any old boy scout to shame with her skills. He had never seemed satisfied with what she knew. There was always more she could learn, according to him. No matter what the reason was, Sakura was grateful he was so dedicated in helping her hone her skills.

“I can walk now,” Sakura said, reaching up for a hand. Indra was there first, to pull her up. “We need to find Naruto before more people start returning. He might be freaked out if the card was close enough to know out people around him.”

Sakura remembered how each card could change the world around it, sometimes violently, but mostly subtly. The only ones were remained unaffected were the duelists. Would Naruto know that? Had he seen other cards before?

Naruto’s building was close. She rounded the nearest corner, anticipating the wide metal stairs that led to the second and third floors, but she stopped short when she saw the two people halfway up the steps, staring down at her.Sakura recognized Naruto, but the man behind him wore a hoodie that shadowed most of his dark face. Tinted sunglasses made it impossible to see his eyes as he leaned down towards Naruto.

“I told you she’d take it,” the strange man said to Naruto.

In reaction Naruto’s face twisted.

“Naruto, you’re okay!” Sakura exclaimed, taking a handful of steps towards him before Asura and Indra both jumped in front of her, blocking the way. Lines of tension stood out from their necks and backs, like they were bracing for an impact. “Guys, it’s okay, it’s Naruto.”

“He’s not what Karin said he’d be,” Asura warned darkly. “Can you sense it? His first mark is activated.”

Sakura’s stomach swooped and she staggered a step back, glancing up the stairs to where Naruto stood alongside the other duelist. The man couldn’t be anything else. The both of them had been awake and watching her. 

“Who are you?” Sakura called up to the man behind Naruto, recognizing next to nothing from the info in Kakashi’s files. “Are you Bee?”

“Yo, that’s Killer Bee now! We in this game,” he shouted, pairing his words with a flash of hand signs. “You seem pretty literate on the deets.”

“He means details,” Sakura hissed to Indra who looked lost.

“Did you win over the card, Sakura?” Naruto asked, sounding old and tired. Sakura almost couldn’t recognize his voice for how thin it sounded. Naruto was always more vibrant.

“You know about the cards then. Did your dad tell you? How much do you know? Karin said-”

“Karin lied to me!” Naruto screamed.

Sakura staggered back again, unsettled by the heat of his anger. “Naruto, she’s your cousin and she cares about you. She’s worried. She asked me to help you.”

“You can’t help me, you’re my enemy. You’re trying to win the game faster to get what you want. The game can last for years but you’re trying to finish it before then!” Naruto’s outburst was just as angry when he talked about her. He seemed to hold her in the same regard as his cousin.

“Naruto, this game is dangerous. People are dying. It’s not something you should want to drag out.”

“It wouldn’t be so dangerous if you didn’t provoke the cards. If you leave them alone new ones won’t show up. But the more you win over the more show up, until all eighty-eight are sorted out.” Naruto glared like a child would, with hot anger that wouldn’t easily be appeased. “I know what I’m talking about. Bee told me everything Dad wouldn’t.”

“Naruto, I need the cards so that I can save Kakashi. He was cursed by another woman, named Anko, and I need the powers from the cards to free him. Please believe me, I’m not your enemy and I don’t want to fight you. I don’t want you angry or upset. Let me help you.”

“She knew better, she’s just saving face cause she got caught,” Bee laughed behind Naruto. “Just like she knew who I was before I could introduce myself. She’s a contender.”

“Naruto you’re my friend, you know me better than this!” Sakura shouted, hating the sight of Bee whispering into Naruto’s ear like a devil on his shoulder. The sight made her blood boil. “You know I don’t want to be your enemy. It’s _me_.” 

“You think he’d buy your story like that? Naruto doesn’t shop for discount sob stories at the dollar mart, lady!” Bee laughed. “Try a different angle. Naruto knows the horrors these games bring.”

And it was like a light switch, how the last few words out of Bee’s mouth changed Naruto’s disposition from angry to terrified. She could see from where she stood how he went stiff and wide eyed. His skin lost its color.

“What are you talking about?” Sakura demanded, afraid for Naruto’s sake. He didn’t look good and she needed to help him.

“You don’t know anything, _real friend_,” Bee barked. “But you didn’t care what was happening on the other side of the forest, did you? If it didn’t help you get what you wanted you didn’t even bother. What did you do when the enforcers arrived? I bet you danced with them.”

“Naruto, what is he talking about?” Sakura called up. She took two steps, back to where she originally stood and pushed Asura and Indra to the side, though they didn’t go far.

“It’s nothing,” Naruto forced out through ground teeth. “It’s not important. Just stay out of the games from now on, and don’t interfere.”

Sakura opened her mouth to say something back but a chill passed through her and she turned in time to see a streak of white light blaze across campus. Like a shooting star with a tail in the night sky, it streaked past. No one was around to see it, and the few bodies nearest to the windows who might have possibly see it, went limp against the glass, eyes shut to the marvel.

“Another card,” Asura cried. He reached for her wrist. “Let’s go.”

“Don’t!” Naruto barked. “Leave it alone!”

She looked back up and frowned. “Naruto, if I don’t go after it someone else will. This game has more than just us to play it.”

“That’s what we’re here for, girl!” Bee cheered before reaching for the railing and vaulting himself over. “We’re the defenders, yo!”

“If no one shows up in another hour it’ll blaze off,” Naruto explained, taking the stairs down two at a time.

Sakura couldn’t help but think of Gaara and how easily he broke a body. “That’s still crazy, Naruto. There are people in this game that kill for the cards. You’re in danger. Leave it alone.”

“I told you she’d be bad news,” Bee called back over his shoulder.

Naruto looked over his shoulder and the glare was back in place. “Stay out of my way if you’re not going to help. I’m not letting this game end anytime soon.”

Then he ran off to catch up with Bee.

Indra touched her elbow, bending towards her ear. “What do you want us to do? Do you want to go for it?”

“We could take ‘em if we had to,” Asura added.

“No, even if he’s being stubborn and not listening to me, Naruto is still my friend and I won’t hurt him or fight him. He’s being an asshole and not listening, but he’s still my friend.”

“Why do you have to be friends with a stupid person? It’s obvious someone sold him a song,” Asura huffed. “He doesn’t deserve you worrying about him when he looks at you like _that_.”

“Naruto can be pretty gullible at times, don’t hold it against him,” Sakura sighed.

“But he is not a child anymore. He’s an adult who made his decisions. Now it is time for you to make yours, Sakura. What do we do now?”

_We_.

Both brothers would follow her as long as she had somewhere to go. Indra didn’t care where it was, and neither did Asura, (even though he liked to complain enough for the both of them), the brothers would follow her wherever she went.

They waited for her to make a decision when a shiver ran through her again. Sakura recognized the panic attack building before it hit, but couldn’t understand where it was coming from. She felt it in her mouth. Her jaw ached and when she tried to speak it was all numb words that couldn’t carry sound.

Then she heard it, the hiss of a million grains of sand rushing up against one another as it filtered down the path. Sakura held herself and fell back against a wall, sliding down until she was small enough to be missed. Asura and Indra both reached for her, but they were too big so she pulled them back into their cards before they could be spotted. She didn’t care if it made sense. She cowered, arms over her legs, body folded tight against the wall. There was enough cover from the bushes to just be enough.

The trail of sand snaked down the campus, long and hissing all the way. Sakura held her breath and pressed into herself as much as possible, screwing her eyes closed.

_Crunch_

_Splat_

_Crunch_

_Splat_


	20. The Storm

“It’s not worth it, we should retreat,” Indra whispered into her heart, still in his card form.

“Yeah,” Asura agreed, sounding too at peace with the fact that he and his brother were of the same mind.

“Sakura, you need to get up now,” Indra stated with a voice as soft as warm chocolate. It made her forget some of her fears and loosen up. “You’re going to be right,” he whispered into her heart. “Come on.”

They were right. One more card wasn’t worth the risk of running into Gaara and ending up like the last girl. Her legs didn’t want to work but she crawled over to the wall and used that to help her stand. She could feel one of her two boys hummed in encouragement at her progress.

“Now you need to get out of this place,” Asura urged. “That guy can take care of himself. Go.”

But Sakura couldn’t.

Naruto, she hadn’t thought about what would happen to him or what would become of him if he went up against Gaara. Even if he had a friend, Sakura doubted Bee would be much help.

Sakura took a mental note of her options, of all the cards she possessed, and all the combinations she could make when using two cards at once; doing so would cut the magic required to power the cards in half. She had plenty of options but none of them seemed good.

“Sakura?” Indra sensed her hesitation, reading her too well. She could hear the suspicion in his tone.

“He’s my friend, even if he doesn’t trust me right now. I can’t abandon him like that,” she said with mounting reservation.

Asura began to panic as he understood what Indra was so concerned about, and Sakura could feel it. “Sakura, don’t do what I think you’re gonna do-stop it! You need to get out of her. Run away!”

Sakura pulled out the Moon card and turned it over her fingers, letting the onyx edges catch the light and glitter.

“I can’t do that this time.”

Indra and Asura tensed at the same moment, straining against the boundaries of their cards. She buried their voices before they could scream at her for being stupid and hopefully that would be enough to prevent them from interfering like they wanted to. 

The Moon card blinked, flickering through different phases until the image on the card was of a new moon, barely haloed in silver. The card then melted into black ink on her hands, cold and hungry. In a split second the rest of Sakura was covered in black and then she bloomed with darkness. It wrapped her up and then dissipated, leaving her in a darkling gown of midnight and stars with a slit up to her hip on the side and a deep plunging V neckline studded with what looked like diamonds.

She breathed deep and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke that spilled from her lips. She breathed out and the smoke shot out in a stream that billowed and grew until he world around her was dim and dark. She burned more of her magic to spread the darkness and move through it, hopefully more unnoticed.

She couldn’t hear Indra or Asura but she wanted to believe they would approve of her plan to avoid engaging Gaara. She knew she wouldn’t win in a fight, but he couldn’t kill her if he couldn’t find her.

The world went near black around her and she moved like a shadow through it until she was on the other side of campus, the edge of the adjunct faculty buildings and parking lot famous for its potholes. There was a card shimmering in mid air and there were two men standing in front of it. Gaara stood opposite the two, looking bored or murderous from underneath his bangs.

Sakura stretched her shadows out around the edges first, edging closer and closer. She was close enough to hear the shouts and taunts. The ground between both sides was disturbed and littered with shards of glass and patches of glittering sand. Bee stood enshrouded in purple energy while Naruto hunched inside his own orange magic that manifested a pair of twin fox tails out behind him.

Sakura remembered seeing a card in one of her past visions, a constellation of a fox with a goose in its jaws, **_Vulpecula_**.

Gaara didn’t look phased and there wasn’t a scratch on him. Unlike the other two boys, who were littered with smudges and the beginnings of bruises. If anything, Gaara looked bored.

A cat’s paw of sand twisted up out of the rolling waves and reached for Naruto, but with a snarl the fire from Naruto’s magic made sparks explode. Shards of glass rained down from the combustion, small and tinkling.

Killer Bee cheered and then flashed a new silver card. Sakura could just barely make it out, not knowing enough to recognize it. **_The Well. _** He waved it and then there was a rush of tumbling water he shot towards Gaara. A wall of sand blocked it and then batted it away.A golden net formed overhead and started to defend on Naruto and Bee. Sakura recognized the net, feeling sick at the sight of it.

Bee turned and his purple energy manifested into a long pole arm with a wicked blade at the end. He twisted and sliced clean through as another star pattern flashed in response to his summoned weapon.Naruto ran across the ground away from the net’s reach, and Gaara had to turn to track him with his cat’s paw made out of sand.

Bee and Naruto had synergy. They weren’t overwhelmingly powerful like Gaara had seemed at first, but they worked well together and fit their styles into a complementary pattern that made her think they had practiced before. They seemed too well suited to each other.

How long had Naruto been a player in the games? It had been mere days since Karin came to their house and told her story.

“Take this,” Naruto roared.

In front of his mouth a ball of energy formed and then shot across the field to land a perfect hit on Gaara. Sand went flying along with smoke and cloud, but when all the dust settled Gaara was still standing. Flakes of sand fell from his face, like the layers of an armor of sand.

“They weren’t kidding about his ultimate defense,” Bee called, cutting through a stream of sand and jumping out of the way when another reached for his ankles.

“He’s not invincible,” Naruto growled, anger making the orange light around him bubble. “We can take him!”

Neither side looked like they were going to back down anytime soon.

Sakura focused on her own efforts, feeding more darkness into the world around them, stretching it around the edges first before filling up the air between people. Bee was the first to notice, as he had to remove his sunglasses to see. He tugged Naruto back, away from Gaara, barking out about how he suspected another trick for Gaara.

Gaara noticed their hesitant retreat and then looked around at how dark things had grown. It was enough to make Sakura nervous. Turning the world black took longer when it was such a wide field, but it looked like she didn’t need to do that anymore. She pulled the edges of her darkness closer and the world rapidly plunged into dimmer shades until the dome was barely big enough for all of them and the fog so thick it was hard to see your own hands.

“What is this stuff?” Naruto cried, burning it with his fox fire. The bud of a third tail was starting to manifest out of his magic.

“Yo, it’s not eating us but it looks bad news bro! We better bounce.”

“No, what about the card? You said-”

“There ain’t nobody going after that thing now! Sandy boy can’t win any of them over, remember?”

“But what about Sakura? Did she get out?”

“Don’t worry about her, man, we got our own business. Let’s go!”

Sakura could just make out where Bee tried to drag Naruto away. Gaara’s sand swirled, striking at the black fog and doing no damage.

Sakura poured more and more of her magic into darkening the world. Soon ever her own hands were starting to become obscured. It was all she was willing to do until Naruto made it out safe.

“Sakura!”

Naruto was shouting for her.

“Can it, bro, we don’t wanna give our fix away!”

“Sakura! Can you hear me. You gotta run!”

“Naruto, shut up!”

“Run away Sakura!” Naruto shouted out in spite of Bee’s insisting.

She could tell they were stumbling away, out of the darkness and further from the card, Gaara, and her. Her heart swelled and she inhaled sharply, feeling her powers surge with new confidence.

Bee and Naruto stumbled to the edges of her darkness and then broke free. She heard it when they regained the ability to see again, and she heard it when they were swept up in their own magic that transported them away like the Stag did for her.

Knowing they were safe, Sakura started to stretch the darkness out further instead of making it more dense. She’d be able to get away without drawing Gaara’s notice that way. She had the Stag ready.

The wind began to pick up and Sakura felt her hair whip dangerously against her face. She had to shut her eyes and cover her face as storming winds grew inside her sphere of darkness.She saw a flash of light from a new star mass she recognized. It was a glass card, the fourth one in the set right after the stag: **the storm**. Unlike the other constellations, it manifested as a heavy nebula, more powerful than many other cards.

Gaara’s storm wins ripped her darkness apart and soon there was only a few layers of dull gray between her and him.

Sakura’s heart stopped when she saw his face. He was close enough that she could distinguish the color of his eyes and read his emotions from their shape. They were blown wide and fixed on her. His mouth hung open, jaw slack, lips falling into a surprised O shape. Her concentration slacked and the Stag card faded from her hands, as well as her concentration on the rest of her magics.

He seemed so much younger in person now that she had a good look at him.

_‘Wait for me, I want to come too!’_

Asura and Indra burned in her chest, begging to be let free. The stirred a warning in her that reminded her of the splat and crunch of Gaara’s last encounter. It was enough to jumpstart her heart again.

Sakura pulled a handful of darkness up between herself and him, throwing it into the air like a sheet only to have it fall down again and reveal how empty the space where she once stood was. She could slip through the darkness like a part of it, _if_ it was thick enough to obscure her movements.

Her brain began to buzz with worry. His storm had torn up most of her darkness, so it was be nearly impossible to summon her Stag without him seeing it and spotting her again. If he did that, would she have enough time to mount it and turn it around to ride away on, or would his sand crush her before then?

A distraction.

‘Please work’ she prayed while holding up The Moon card between her fingers.

The card showed the picture of a new mood, more darkness than light. The image shifted, and instead of a new mood, a crescent moon manifest itself. In reaction, her dress changed too and shimmered as a dull charcoal gray replaced the deep black color of the fabric. The neckline didn’t change, but the slit was replaced with an extra layer of silk chiffon to make the skirts swirl.

She turned into the dissipating darkness and her reflection spun away. She stopped to look at the mirrored version of herself before grinning and running away. The new moon variation made darkness, the crescent moon variation allowed her one double, the half moon variation allowed her three doubles, and the full moon reflected parts of the world back like the mirrors in a fun house. The full moon effect made her dizzy though, and she hadn’t been able to keep it up for very long when she practiced it with Shikamaru.

The cat’s paw of sand melted into a human hand and reached for Sakura’s duplicate. That Sakura did her best to outrun it, but the sand arm was too fast. It reached her and passed brought through her legs, once, then twice before pulling back.

By the time Gaara realized he was chasing an illusion Sakura was already behind him, forcing the moon card to change from crescent straight to full. The field shifted like a scene underwater, before fragments turned in on themselves and the area warped. Some parts reflected the sky, others reflected the ground. A few reflected Sakura out and a couple even reflected Gaara back at himself.

Sakura hid behind a fragment of Gaara and braced against the pain blooming behind her third eye from using too much of her magic to power the cards. It was like the last time. She was nearing her limit.

Sakura grabbed for the skirts of her silver white dress and held them tight as the magic in her nearly threw her off her balance.

The cat’s paw slashes out at several shards of the illusion while Sakura began to make her way back towards the buildings. Gaara used his sand as well as his storm winds to destroy more and more of her illusions. Sakura threw up more, but he was shattering them faster than she could replace them.

Sakura felt dizzy and fell to her knees, blue jeans scraping the gravel as her card gave out. The dress went with the illusions and Sakura was left winded on the side of the walk way, too tired to stand.

“You need to get up!” Asura screamed at her.

She heard a sound and turned back to see Gaara right there, mere feet from where she crouched. The same expression from before bloomed on his face, the slack jaw and wide eyes of a surprised boy, but then it shifted.

“No,” he breathed, his eyes blown wide. Gaara reached up, grabbing huge clumps of his hair to tug on. Sakura saw his knuckles go white as his brow creased with worry and then anger. He went from surprised to upset and then angry.The veins of his neck stood out and his eyes seemed to vibrate in their sockets as he doubled over and screamed. “No, no, no, no no-no _NO_!”

The wind went wild behind him and he stumbled just as Sakura felt a new drag of strength. She clung to it and stood, hobbling until she could manage to manifest a new card. She had though it might be the stag but it was the swan.

Good enough for now….

Sakura took flight as silver white wings erupted out of her back. She kicked off the ground, and then up over the trees, climbing higher.

A geyser of sand erupted in front of her, causing her to bank sharply to avoid it. Another couple of sand columns rose up and she had to weave and duck in mid air to avoid crashing into them. She could feel star grains of sand brush against her arms. She wasn’t fast enough. She wasn’t going to be able to get away. He was-

In her panic she had misjudged the distance and clipped her wing on a shoot of sand. It sent her tumbling into the trajectory of another geyser that shot her up into the air, head over heels, tumbling.

The geyser shot her up but then dissipated and she was free falling through the air, unable to right herself. She was too dizzy to tell up from down. She felt the swan card fade away and she was back in her jeans just in time to fall to her death.

_Crunch_

_Splat-_

But she didn’t splatter on the ground, instead a giant hand of sand caught her and wrapped around her tight before lowering to the ground and melting around her. She scrambled free, kicking at it wildly as it shifted under her, growing flatter from the cushion it had once been.

She remembered the first time she saw Gaara kill, and she remembered seeing how Yugito had been popped like a bloated juice box. The sand should have done the same to her.

“No… not like this…”

She stumbled up to her feet and turned. Gaara was there, looking devastated at the sight of her, like she was the root of some great travesty. He made a sound, not quite a word, and reached for her. Sakura jerked back, almost stumbling again as she tried to keep out of his reach.

Her reaction made his expression shift, taking on a new degree of mania. He reached for his hair again and pulled at it, screaming. The sand all around them was vibrating, spiking in places and shivering in others as his control slipped.

Sakura knew she needed to run, but she couldn’t. It was like watching a train crash. She just couldn’t look away as the sand armor crack and the cat’s paw melted behind him. His concentration was shot and she was watching him come undone.

“No, no, not, no-noooah!” he screamed, jerking harshly back before his words became just sounds. She hadn’t hurt him, but it was obvious Gaara was in some sort of pain.

And it hurt her?

Sakura felt her chest squeeze in pain as the boy howled on. It was a reflex she didn’t understand, but she knew she didn’t like to see Gaara, the murderer, in pain.

“Who are you?” Sakura demanded.

More of Gaara’s sand armor flaked off and he stared up at her from underneath a fragment that was hanging off his brow. His eyes were moist and gleamed bright enough for her to make out her own reflection in them.

Sakura moved before she knew what she was doing. She reached for him, hand passing through sand as Gaara started to transform back. She had seen him do this once before. Soon he would be gone, transported away.

Her heart spike and she blurted out a single word before the rest of him could melt away.

“Checkers!”

Its enough to make Gaara release his hair and straighten. The last thing she saw was his open mouth before the sand carried him away.

-

_‘Wait for me, I want to come too!’_

_Sakura looked back, stopping in the middle of the trail to wait for the smaller child. His cousin wasn’t with him so there was no one who cared enough to stop him from doing as he pleased. Sakura knew her brother would hate her if she chased after him with Gaara, but he seemed to hate her regardless, so she figured it wasn’t worth it to be mean._

_‘You’re slow. Are you sure you can keep up?’ Sakura asked. _

_Gaara was small enough that the length of his legs made a difference. But he pouted and puffed out his chest. ‘I can keep up!’_

_He looked almost angry and Sakura remembered feeling sorry for teasing him. ‘We don’t have to play in the woods if you would rather do something else.’_

_‘I-I can do anything you’re going to do,’ he said._

_‘Do you have any favorite games?’_

_He blinked at her and then slowly shook his head._

_Sakura pulled the box out from under her arms. ‘I was going to make my brother play with me, but he’s just going to run away from me again.’_

_Gaara’s eyes went wide. ‘What’s in there?’_

_‘Just some checker pieces and a rug with the squares on it we use to play.’_

_‘Can you do that?’_

_Sakura frowned at the question. ‘Yeah, of course. Don’t you know how to play checkers?’ _

_His cheeks turned red. ‘No, n-not really.’_

_Sakura glanced down at the box and then over at Gaara before offering it to him. He reached for it eagerly, folding his arms around it to keep it steady. It looked even bigger than it was in his small arms. _

_‘Checkers is an easy game. I’ll teach you how to play.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that GaaSaku tag starts to make sense.


	21. The Key

Sakura sat on the window bench across from Karin. The pair had matching mugs of tea, but Sakura’s was half gone while Karin’s was still nearly full.

“I’m fine,” Sakura said for what felt like the 100th time.

Karin only frowned. “It’s still my fault. I had thought I was doing you a favor, when really I had just been feeding you lies.”

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know _they_ were lying to _you_.”

Karin tried a sip of tea but didn’t take much. “You think they knew I would end up betraying them? Did they have any faith in me to begin with?”

“What would be worse?”

Karin shrugged. “They found out I went to you and made a big deal out of it, even though they had planned this all along.” A moment passed and then Karin turned away from the window to face Sakura. Her amber colored eyes looked red in the fading light. They were hard as rubies, refined with her own edge of determination. “I don’t regret it, not for a second.”

“You’re strong.”

Karin almost bristle at the comment. “How so? You’re the one who narrowly escaped a mass murderer all on your own. If anyone’s brave around here, it would be you, wouldn’t it?”

Sakura rubbed the skin of her forehead, feeling for the third eye sunk deep. “I don’t think I was in as much danger as I thought I would be.”

“You were. Sakura, he’s been _killing_ people for years, even before these games started. A whole compound full of people, remember the file?”

“I remember what we read. I still…I know it sounds stupid but I can’t feel anymore fear in my heart when I think of him. He was just a kid.”

“A kid who killed _seven_ adults.”

“That’s it?”

Karin tucked in her chin and stared at Sakura through half lidded eyes, heavy with accusation. “Not funny.”

“I’ve been told my humor is a bit on the dark side,” Sakura laughed.

She finished her own tea and then unfolded her legs to stand. When she turned to look back, Karin was back to staring out the window, sipping from her own drink. There were snow flurries projected for the night, which was maybe people buzz. It was barely December and already the world seemed ready to wash itself in white and start clean. 

“Guy is coming by, he said he’s brining extra Chinese food when I told him you would be staying with me,” Sakura said.

Karin looked up, eyes open. “For me? Why? He doesn’t know me that well, and he works for my rotten old uncle.”

“Yeah, but Guy is a good person. He’s been playing dad for me all this time Kakashi’s been trapped. He’ll show up randomly with groceries I need, he’s given me a few rides here and there, and even taken me kayaking.”

Karin looked on unimpressed. “He’s just being nice to you because my uncle wants him spying on you I bet.”

“Maybe, but he’s my family and I trust him. He’s helped me when I know the mayor would love to see me fail and I’m sure he knows I’ve been at several card sites even though I never admitted to it.” Sakura felt warm when she remembered Guy’s kindness. Even when he suspected, he never asked. “Even if he is betraying me, I’ll never doubt he cares for me and is my family.”

“You shouldn’t trust so easily, Sakura.”

“I trust _you_, Karin.”

The redhead shut her mouth.

“Maybe I shouldn’t, but I’d rather live my life this way, having faith in my friends, so let me keep my skin thin and my heart bare.”

“You’ll get hurt that way,” Karin breathed, looking like she was watching something painful.

Sakura rolled her shoulders easily, seemingly unconcerned with Karin’s words. “Whatever, I’ll deal with it when I need to, but a life without friends and family is a life I’m not ready for. I don’t like being alone. That’s the worst.” 

“Oi! Where is everyone else?” someone called from downstairs.

Sakura grinned, turning out of her room into the hallway to lean over the banister. She shouted downstairs, “We’ll be there in a minute, Shika.”

“You got the witch?” Ino called back up.

From inside Sakura’s room Karin bristled, recognizing her nickname.

“She’s here,” Sakura laughed. “What about the Chinese food?”

“Choji’s brining it in with Guy,” Shikamaru called up, appearing at the end of the stairs. His annoyed expression lessened when he saw her in one piece.

“Alright, we’ll be done soon.”

Sakura took her empty mug with her, transcending the stairs to find Ino and Shikamaru already greeting Indra and Asura. The table in the dining room had its extensions added and was being set with the finishing touches by Indra. It was the only place in the house where more than four people could fit in one spot and still all have a seat.

Sakura came up next to Indra and squeezed his forearm in thanks before moving out of the room. Asura was on the floor with the dogs, talking up to Shikamaru and Ino. Just then the front door opened and Guy came in with Choji, arms filled with boxes of Chinese food.

“Dinner is ready!” Guy bellowed excitedly.

Choji chuckled but held up a box of his own. “Guy treated. I tried to pitch in but he wouldn’t let me.”

“I’ve got money too,” Sakura said, sounding upset. “Guy, you’re a public servant.”

“I’m old and I can do what I want, so make room on the table,” he laughed.

Karin came down the stairs a minute later with her empty tea. She frowned when she saw a seat at the table left open for her, even with so many people crowded around. Sakura, Asura, Indra, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Guy, and one extra seat.

“It’s worse than Thanksgiving,” Karin grumbled.

“Not so,” Choji interjected, glancing to where Sakura sat. “I want to believe we had a perfectly pleasant dinner without being too crowded.”

“The food was amazing, but why do you need me to tell you that? Everyone knows your family is the best at that,” Sakura sighed thought her smile.

Choji smiled wide. “It’s enough to know you enjoyed it. Now, soup first, who wants some?”

Karin took her seat and then before the noodles and rice were served she somehow found a way to relax alongside Sakura. The table never mentioned cards or curses or games, but ripped into current events and flirted with talks of politics before everyone agreed that it had been too soon for Christmas carols to be playing everywhere whenever it was the radios decided to switch over. 

“So the other officers, I know for a fact that Asuma is close with my uncle, but what about the others?” Karin asked when the dinner was almost done.

There was plenty of leftovers, but no one seemed ready to stuff themselves any more than they already had. It was apparently the perfect time for Karin to turn into an investigative reporter on Guy.

“That’s what happens to married men with babies and wives,” he sighed.

“Who else on the force has a family my uncle can blackmail?” Karin asked.

“I want to trust all the men and women I work with,” Guy sighed. “I don’t think any of them would do anything to hurt Sakura. That’s a line they wouldn’t cross for Minato.”

“Not even Shisui Uchiha?” Shikamaru asked, cracking open a single eye to watch Guy.

At the end of the table Guy just laughed. “Shisui is an Uchiha. Not even Minato could bully him with a last name like that.”

Karin shrugged. “He is an Uchiha, isn’t he?”

“Very much so!” Guy laughed. “But he is not as involved in this as you might suspect. He will be going back to Seattle to be with his family during the holidays. You won’t have to worry about him.”

Sakura glanced back and forth between Karin and Guy. “Wait, is there something special about being an Uchiha that I don’t know about? What is it?”

Guy was the one who ended up explaining it to her. “The Uchiha clan based in Seattle has awareness of the games, but they are special. Generations ago one of their ancestors did something so that their descendants would never be selected as _duelists_ in the games from the future.”

“They’re bastards about it too,” Karin added.

“How do you know that?” Shikamaru asked.

“They’re Uchiha, they’re assholes about everything. During the mayoral campaign they were here in Delphinium supporting my uncle and they were all, every one of them, _worse_ than Shisui. At least Shisui has a personality. The rest of them were just terrible.” 

“How?” Sakura asked.

“Just…assholes. Like real politician assholes,” Karin elaborated.

“Like it was a family business to be a politician?” Ino interjected.

Karin snapped her fingers. “Exactly like that! I mean, they were pretty as sin, but assholes about it.”

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes across the table at Karin. “Were they assholes before, or after you tried hitting on one of them?”

Karin flung a noodle over the table at Shikamaru, but it missed his face and landed harmlessly on the table top. Ino snickered while the brothers Indra and Asura shared perplexed looks after Sakura grinned wide.

“So,” Choji interrupted, “does that mean Shisui isn’t in the Mayor’s pocket? Could we rely on him for anything?”

“Not advisable,” Guy sighed. “The Uchiha are their own clan of devils, they just don’t want to meddle with our town the way it is now. Best to avoid them.”

Sakura noticed Indra shifting nervously in his seat, reaching over to kick his brother under the table. No one else noticed, but Sakura was too close not to. She noticed everything they did even if she didn’t see it.

Indra caught her eye and must have realized this, since he glanced away with more color high on his cheeks. The tips of his ears, peaking through his dark hair were pink as well.

“So, what now?” Ino interjected.

Shikamaru sighed, leaning away from the table. “Guy, what does it look like when the games ends?”

“Not that,” Sakura said, turning around to face the rest of the table. “Just Kakashi getting back. I…I’m not personally in a rush to end these games.”

“The games are dangerous. As long as they continue the other duelists will only see you as another target,” Shikamaru reasoned. “And your life is sorta starting to suck. What about your grades? You haven’t even signed up for spring courses, have you?”

“I-I was getting around to it. They never fill up. It’ll be fine.”

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and it was like the stare a disappointed parent would use when calling out their kid on his or her bullshit. Shikamaru knew her better than her lies.

“What I want is to get Kakashi back,” Sakura said, clasping her hands together under the table where no one would see.

“You’re still not strong enough to break the magic of Anko’s curse,” Choji added. “We’ve tried it several times together. Her magic just always pushes you back.”

“I haven’t tried it since I won the new one this morning,” she said.

Sakura held out her hand and the freckles along the back of her leg lit up through her jeans. A key that looked like it was made out of quartz crystal rotated just above her fingers in a magical glow. Once the light faded the key turned dark and fell into her hand.

“It’s an interesting card, but not a powerful one,” Guy explained. “Though I’m sure you’ll find plenty of opportunities to use it.”

“But, maybe it can, I don’t know…_unlock_ Kakashi’s curse?” After saying it outloud Sakura felt even more silly. “I can try, right?”

“Do you feel like you’re getting closer to breaking the curse on Kakashi?” Karin asked.

Sakura remembered the last few times she had attempted to tear open Kakashi’s curse. The magic around him was dense and strong. She could cut into it with her own magic, but never enough. She always ran out of power before she could get far enough. Yet, every card won brought her closer-some more than others.

Sakura had a good feel for how much power each card gave her and which ones were worth more or less. The Wand was a powerful card, and so was the Moon. The Key card, like the Stag, wasn’t as impressive. Nothing was as heavy or powerful as her third eye though. 

“I’m getting closer,” Sakura offered weakly.

Guy watched her with a pained expression. “It can be hard to run towards a goal when you can’t even see the finish line. If you’re racing through fog it can feel like you’re running forever with no end in sight.”

Guy’s words made perfect sense for how she felt.

“I can’t give up though,” Sakura said.

There was respect and admiration, but also fear as Guy watched her. He saw her determination and it still scared him. She knew better than to hope he could just be proud of her. She knew she was a little more reckless when it came to Kakashi, but couldn’t care.

“We know,” Guy said. His voice was a fraction of its usual vigor.

The whole table watched her as she stood up and left the room. From under the table several of her dogs got up to see where she was going before turning back to look for more discarded food. Mop was the only one who stayed by her side as she exited through the back door to stand outside.

It was dark and it was cold. She hadn’t bothered with a jacket but her breath made a cloud just past her lips when she breathed out.

Behind her the door opened and stayed open long enough for several people to follow her onto the back porch. She knew Asura and Indra were there, but only knew it was Choji and Ino because she looked back. Karin stood in the window, watching from inside along with Shikamaru.

Kakashi’s card always felt heavy in her pocket, but it was especially so right before she pulled it out and attempted to break it.

Sakura held the card out in front of her, and when she let go it stayed stuck in midair, spinning lazily with its own momentum. 

The world around her was cold but her blood raced as she pulled up her magic and all the freckles on her body filled with new light. She stirred each and every set of them, pulling the magic out of them and collecting it into a single focal point just between her brows as her third eye opened and overflowed. Arguably the most powerful of all her marks, her third eye spun with wild chaotic magic that stirred the others along.

She could feel Asura and Indra like ghosts on either side of her, supporting her as she braced in the dirt for what was to happen next.

“The Power to tear the world asunder and turn the wheel of fate,” she whispered to her reflection. “Give me the power to move kingdoms, the power to revolutionize the world!”

She fired her magic like a bullet that tore, screaming through space until it impacted. Anko’s curse shattered upon impact and layer after layer was ripped through. Sakura felt herself follow the magic as it sank, deeper and deeper into the curse. She was a reckoning that wouldn’t be stopped.

But then, just like the last time, her power snagged on a knot of curse that wouldn’t be torn like the rest of it. It was like hitting a wall and it infuriated her to feel the same obstacle again.

‘_Give me back my dad you bitch_,’ Sakura seethed into her own magic, bracing to drive it further.

The knot started to rip, fragments fraying under the burn of Sakura’s will. Sakura felt the small victories and almost delighted in them until something snapped and all the broken parts of the curse came back together and Sakura was thrust out. For as far as she had forced herself, the curse thrust her own that much further.

“Sakura!” Karin screamed from the window, still somehow loud enough to hear.

Everything detonated around her and Sakura felt the ground leave her feet. She was airborne for maybe a second before Indra and Asura were both under her, catching and cradling her back to earth.

There was blood running down her face from her third eye and then more tears from the other two as Sakura was forced to watch Kakashi’s card turn on its axis one more time before falling limply into the grass, steam rolling off its edges from her failed efforts. The glow from her magic that once lit it went out and the world went dark around her again.

There was barely enough moonlight peaking through the clouds to see her own hands in front of her face, but Asura and Indra were too close to miss her tears.

She probably smelled like salt to them.

“Shhh,” Asura whispered, reaching up with the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe away her tears and the blood off her face.

Sakura made a noise of complaint at the touch but didn’t pull away. She could feel Indra’s hand running up and down her back along the length of her spine. The dull ends of his fingers traced the edges of her bones and she felt too young for her own sorrows.

“I’m fine,” Sakura forced herself to say. She breathed deep and then coughed to get her heart out of its palpitating. She felt dizzy, but that was how she always felt after using everything she had in a single shot.

“You’re stable, but you’re not fine,” Indra said. His fingers stilled at the base of her spine. Sakura glanced up at him and could barely see his face, but still knew what sort of expression he was making for her. “Don’t feel the need to lie to us. We know you better than that.”

The truth of his words made her almost crumple again. “I wasn’t any closer this time, was I?”

“You were closer!” Asura insisted. “You felt it too. You were at the end, the final knot of her magic was right there in front of you. You’re much closer than you were when you first started. You’re doing such good work, Sakura.”

The others were watching, but Asura still reached down, protected from view by Indra’s back, and kissed the side her face. It was only a peck, but it warmed the rest of her skin.

“You are going to defeat her curse, it’s only a matter of time,” Indra added. He tugged her closer, away from Asura sideif only slightly.

Choji had stepped down off the porch steps and was approaching them with Kakashi’s card in his hand. Karin trotted up behind him. Seeing their approach, Sakura got her feet under her and stood, exhaling once more.

“Yeah,” Sakura agreed, glancing up into the sky thick with clouds before approaching Choji and Karin. She took Kakashi’s card back and held it to her chest, feeling the warmth of it over her heart before it cooled down completely.

“Wait a little longer, I’m almost there, Kakashi.”

December bloomed beautifully and the land turned white for all the world to see over night. It would have been so beautiful to behold, if only Sakura hadn’t woken up the way she had; to a pair of glowing green eyes and twice as many dripping fangs plunged deep into her neck.

Anko stood over Ino and Karin, both innocently sleeping, and wholly undisturbed while the snakes slithered back up her arm, having emptied their venom into Sakura from both sides.

Sakura opened her mouth but her voice was gone, stolen away by whatever now ran through her veins.She called with the last of her will for Indra and Asura, but they were deep inside, pushed back too far to reach-along with every other card she had earned.

Nothing worked.

“You shouldn’t have meddled with my curse, girl,” Anko said, sounding almost remorseful. “You were nowhere near ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone loves a cliffhanger, don't they?


	22. The Magician

It was cold but it wasn’t uncomfortable when she woke up. There was too little light, but once she moved some sensor must have picked up and turned on because the room flooded with new brightness from an overhead source. It was too much too soon. She turned her face back into the scratchy mattress sheets and groaned. She felt terrible inside and outside and all over. Something was wrong-_broken_\- in her.

She reached for Indra and Asura and felt them like a detached limb. They were still in their cards and their cards were still in her, but they were just beyond her reach, spinning silently int the void of some new emptiness that lived inside her now. Sakura called out but neither could hear her.

“You’re awake.”

Sakura forced herself up out of the mattress and glared over her shoulder. She wasn’t surprised to see Anko there. Minato came as a bit of a shock.

“What…the…fu-ugh?”

She tried to stand but her legs betrayed her the moment she put weight on them. Sakura ended crumpling up on the ground just next to her bed, one arm still tangled in the sheets.

She had looked better.

“She’s not lucid,” Minato complain to Anko.

“She’s lucid enough. It’s just her motor skills that are impaired. Everything else is a side effect of being drugged so long,” Anko answered in a detached voice that carried no emotion. Sakura expected viciousness or sneering, but Anko was just numb sounding.

“What’s going… on?” Sakura forced herself to gasp. Her words left her body like desperate breaths, greedily sucking up new oxygen. Her lungs hurt almost as much as the rest of her.

“It’ll wear off in a couple of minutes. You’re only making it last longer by panicking,” said Anko.

Minato didn’t say anything, but he watched her from the opposite end of the room. Sakura noticed the plexiglass between them. Her vision was a mess but she was able to see enough through to blur to recognize different details. She was trapped on the other side in a room with a bed, a carpet, a toilet, a sink, and a small bookshelf stocked with only a handful of books, while he and Anko looked in from the outside.

It wasn’t a room, it was a cell.

“What did you do?” Sakura snarled, feeling more disjointed as she flailed on the floor, unable to get her legs under her. Her body felt like it was made of jelly.

“It’s a drug, naturally. It will wear off with time. You’re only making the situation worse for yourself,” Minato said. He watched her struggle without expression, showing no pity and sparing no kindness.

Sakura felt her face flush with heat from both anger and frustration. She looked like an idiot no doubt. Neither Anko nor Minato seemed concerned by her state in the least.

“How could you?” Sakura asked, giving up on her efforts to stand. “You’re the damn mayor. Why would you do something like this?”

“I think you already know the answer to that.”

“I wasn’t a threat to your son, God damn it!” Sakura screamed. “I would never hurt him. You’re insane if you think that.”

“I’d be insane to trust Kakashi’s stray. He never disclosed to me what he knew of your history. Amnesia and dead ends?” Minato scoffed at the memory. “A likely story.”

“You think it was a _story_?”

“It was a tale alright, one that was supposed to tug at my heart strings just enough. Kakashi knew that if I found out where you really came from I wouldn’t have let him keep you as long as he had.”

_‘Wouldn’t have let him keep me?’ _Sakura wanted to snarl. She wasn’t a damn pet. Who was he to talk to her like she was anything less than a human being with a soul and a will?He sounded like he was some sort of god.

“This is bullshit,” Sakura seethed from on the floor. “Let him? What are you, the master of Kakashi? He’s not a dog.”

She moved on her hands, pulling the rest of her numb body along behind her. She was starting to feel the pain of pins and needles all throughout her legs and relished the feeling of something-_anything_. Blood was flowing in her again, a sign that she lived. 

Minato and Anko watched her with the same muted expressions as she struggled on the floor, but Anko’s eyes were glossy, like those of a day dreamer’s .

“Maybe you do believe in your own innocence, but that’s not a good enough excuse to leave you alone anymore. You’re too powerful as it is,” said Minto.

“You’ve no right to do this. This is insane. You-you just can’t expect to keep me here like this. I haven’t done anything to you!”

“You’re playing a dangerous game. Did you think everything would be fair in it?” he asked.

Sakura bristled even more at his words. “You’re paranoid and destructive. Naruto is my friend. I’m not his enemy and I never will be. What you’ve done is irrational and criminal. Let me go home, now.”

He stared down his nose at her. “Why? So you can release Kakashi from his prison and undo this whole charade? No, he’s helped you enough as it is. I’ll not let you loose upon the world to tear it asunder as you were raised to do.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Sakura laughed, rolling her eyes. “Me? I don’t care one ounce about power or these games if it doesn’t have anything to do with Kakashi. I just want him home. I’m not an enemy to you or Naruto.”

“That’s what I would expect you to say.” Minato closed his eyes and took a half step back before raising his chin like some noble high born that had to smell something beneath him.“I’m sorry, but I’ve resolved not to believe you. Maybe Kakashi raised you, but you were first nurtured by a dangerous lot. One I’d rather see burned to the ground than left alive. The fact I haven’t had Anko kill you already is a mercy.”

Everything felt more like a movie and less like reality. “You’re sick. I’ve never done anything to deserve this.”

“Not yet.” He tapped the center of his forehead and then pointed at her. “They gave you their strongest card on purpose. The hopes and dreams of a famed people live inside of you. Forgotten or not, you were raised by vipers and scorpions, and such creatures do not neglect their natures so easily.”

“Fuck you.”

“Language, girl.”

He was referring back to the compound she was born and raised in before Kakashi found her. Almost all of her memories from before Kakashi were a mess. She remembered her brother falling and dying. She remembered some of the faces of people there. She remembered Gaara and her playing checkers together in the woods. She remembered…. Wild grass at her knees, a row of cabins…a…tree…and…little else.

She had run away while Gaara was left behind, and after years of being raised in the compound he had turned into a serial killer without qualm or remorse.Maybe Minato thought that was Sakura’s fate once she gained enough powers.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, old man,” she sighed, suddenly too tired to be as angry as she once was. 

Sakura tried to stand again but there was too much pain in her legs to do much more than fold them up under her. When she reached up she could feel the slits on her neck left over from the two snake bites on either side that Anko had used to drug her during her initial kidnapping. That night it had happened so suddenly. She had been sleeping in her bedroom with her friends. The dogs never woke her but-

“What did you do to Karin and Ino?” Sakura called out to Anko, hand still tracing the slits on her neck. “Where are they?”

“Alive and none the worse for wear. They didn’t get it nearly as bad as you. They’ll wake up never knowing I was there.” Anko’s voice when she replied was almost as dead as her expression.

“They’ll know I’m missing. They’ll look for me.”

“Not if you never existed in their memories,” Anko sighed. She closed her eyes and a moment later the lights of one of her freckle clusters lit up. Sakura didn’t recognize the arraignment, but Anko held out a card trimmed in black between two fingers. The image was one Sakura could barely make out.

**“The Magician?**” Sakura read.

“It’s a simple magic really. For those girls, your friends, the adults who knew your name all now share the same fate. I stripped their memories of you,” she said.

Anko’s words made Sakura go cold all over. “I-that’s not possible. I don’t believe you. No! They’re my friends. They’ll remember me. They’ll come for me! Your magic can’t hold them back from their memories forever.”

“Then you have no reason to worry,” said Anko before the card blinked brightly between her fingers.

One second it was there, and the next it wasn’t. Sakura’s eyes swam with wild colors that needed to fall back into place. Her world was a screaming mess until it all snapped back into focus, like a rubber band over extended. The impact nearly knocked her back and made the roots of her teeth tingle and taste magic.

When she managed to look up both Anko and Minato were gone.

Left alone Sakura sat back and stretched, trying to get the blood flowing through her legs and arms. It was a slow and uncomfortable process, but before long she was able to stand and walk about. She was stiff from so long asleep, which made her suspicious.

There were no windows or doors she could find. There were no cocks she could tell the time by, and the lights in the room seemed to be motion sensitive. If she stayed still for too long they went dim, only to return to full brightness once she moved.

The room wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small, and at least there was a divider in front of the toilet that could give her a smidge of privacy. There was no shower though, so she wondered how they expected her to keep clean if at all.

Asura and Indra were still somewhere her voice couldn’t reach, and it scared her more and more with each passing minute. She couldn’t tell how many minutes passed, or how many hours for that matter, but it felt like a lifetime since they last spoke.

With the lights still on she wasn’t tired, but after what must have been a full day, (spent examining her cell and reading the first few pages of twenty different books), the motion sensors turned off and the room went dark, and no amount of hand waving or running back and forth would turn them on again.

“It’s time to sleep then,” she grumbled.

She tugged her covers back and slid in, only realizing how hungry she was once the panic abated enough for some new fear to rise up. A whole day in the basement and they hadn’t even remembered to feed her. In the morning she’d have to yell at them for that.

But they didn’t come in the morning.

She found a box with a water bottle and some wrapped sandwiches, but no one was still around to claim responsibility. She waited for something, anything, to happen. That’s when Sakura noticed a chute at the base of the wall that was sealed shut, but nothing else.

She had explored most of the room and exhausted herself on attempts to try and rouse up Asura and Indra, but nothing worked. The books were less interesting than there covers, but after several attempts, she eventually started to flip through ‘The Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome.’

That’s how her second day passed, as well as her third.

On the forth day Sakura lost it. She went rabid in the room and tore down the book shelf, flinging the wood frame at the glass, hoping to shatter it but not expecting even a scratch. She overturned the bed and mattress, then she attacked the glass, pounding her fists against the plexiglass until her palms bled. There were smears in the shape of her fingerprints and bruises just as bad, but she kept at it without anything else to do she felt like she was going to go insane.

She could live on one meal a day, though it was starting to make her sick, but she couldn’t live without people. She needed to hear someone’s voice. She needed to talk and communicate with others.

The silence was maddening.

“I know you’re watching me,” Sakura screamed.

She couldn’t see any cameras or monitors, but she knew Minato was too paranoid to just lock her up and leave her. He’d want an easy way to check in case he ever suspected her escape. It made sense.

“Let me out of here! Let me go! You can’t do this to me.” Sakura’s hands were raw and dripping red onto her knees as she knelt down in front of the glass and gasped for new air. “You’re more a monster than I ever could me. Let me go you damn, twisted, piece of shit.”

She was heaving more from the panic than the physical tantrum because it had been _days_ and no one had come to visit her. Not Minato, not Anko, not Naruto or Bee…no one. She didn’t know if anyone even remembered her like Anko said they wouldn’t.

Sakura’s breathing eventually calmed down enough that she could hear more than just her heartbeat in the bright but messy cell. There was the bugle of water flowing through pipes somewhere beyond the wall of glass, and the creek of an old house.

No footsteps.

Sakura screamed again, but hunger and thirst made her voice raw and weak. She collapsed onto the overturned mattress and pulled up a sheet to cover herself, but didn’t fall asleep until well after the lights turned themselves off for her fifth night in captivity.

But instead of darkness, Sakura did something she hadn’t done since before her kidnapping.

Sakura dreamed.

-

It was always awkward to run into someone he didn’t want to see, but after the start of the game, it was worse than just awkward. The people he dreaded running into were his friends, but he had to avoid them because _Sakura_ was also their friend and she needed them more than he did.

Still, he missed Choji and Shikamaru.

“Hey, Naruto!”

Hearing his name being called Naruto froze with his back to the chip isle. If he turned around it would only get worse, but he could hear Choji walking over to greet him.

“Oh, he-hey guys,” Naruto almost laughed. “Funny seeing you here of all places. Don’t you both have like, moms who can shop for you?”

“You’re one to talk, moron,” Shikamaru scoffed. “What are you picking up, more ramen?”

Naruto looked down at his basket, filled with his favorite brand of cup ramen. Choji had a basket filled with different bags of chips and pretzels. From Shikamaru’s fingers dangled a six pack of Bud Lite.

Choji chuckled at the sight they all made. “I won’t tell anyone’s mom on them if you won’t.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” conceded Naruto.

“Hey, congratulations on finishing junior year part one. Have you signed up for the next semester or are you still dragging your feet?” Choji asked, offering a fist for Naruto to bump.

Naruto returned the gesture without much thought. “Nah, I’m thinking of taking a semester off to study with my dad. It’s a little late for me to sign up for classes, isn’t it?”

“Nah, you have until January,” said Shikamaru. He then made a face and glanced Choji’s way. “I was getting onto someone else about not signing up, but I can’t remember who. That’s annoying.”

“You’re still human, Shikamaru. Even you forget things,” said Choji in a tone that was supposed to be helpful.

Shikamaru’s frustrated expression didn’t lessen. Whatever he had forgotten was annoying him and that made Naruto almost worry. Shikamaru never forgot anything he wanted to. Sure he was lazy as sin and pretended to be an idiot to get out of work, but if he wanted to remember something him mind was a steel trap. In addition to that, Shikamaru never nagged anyone besides his closest friends.

“Maybe it was Ino,” Naruto offered. He tried to consider who else Shikamaru was close with, but only one other forbidden name came to mind.

“That….feels like it could be right but Ino signed up for classes before me. She was the one doing the nagging. Shit.”

“It’ll come back to you, it always does,” Choji said.

Shikamaru grumbled. “It’s been happening a couple of times and it only gets more annoying every time I remember forgetting something.”

“Is it important?” Naruto asked, a dark suspicion rolling in his stomach.

“Yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t care,” Shikamaru quipped with a roll of his eyes.

He then took the corner of his lip in between his teeth and started to chew on it the way he did when he itched for a cigarette. Supposedly the nicotine helped him think. Everyone thought that was bullshit but let the lazy Nara do as he please as long as it wasn’t around them.

“It’s getting late. We should check out,” Choji said, gesturing to his basket. “We’re just hanging out and playing games at my place. You can join us if you want to. I’ve got extra controllers.”

“Ah, nah, that’s fine. I mean, I wouldn’t want to intrude-”

“Since when would it be intruding, moron?” Shikamaru interrupted. “Don’t act like such a stuck up. What’t the matter with you?”

Naruto missed his friends. It sucked how he was going to have to stay away until the end of the game. He didn’t even have a clue how long that would take. Months or years? Would he still be in college by the end of it, or would that part of his life have to be put on hold as well? According to his dad, the last game lasted years and there were three times as many duelists. This decade’s game was projected to last three times as long as the last. By then, wouldn’t all his friends be grown up and married?

“Well, I wouldn’t want it to be weird if I came over and Sakura was there.”

Shikamaru went still.

“Who?” Choji asked.

The unease returned to Naruto’s stomach. Both boys were looking at him like he had said something wrong, but not in the way he had expected. “_Sakura_. Doesn’t she hang out with you guys a lot?”

“Who are you talking about?” Shikamaru asked with a darker scowl.

“We don’t know anyone named Sakura, but even if we did I don’t think she’d come and go so easily. Only Ino barges in on us now and then,” Choji explained. “You must be thinking of someone else.”

“You don’t know a Sakura Haruno? Related to the police chief, Kakashi Hakate?” Naruto tried again. “He took her in years ago when she was just a kid.”

“He did something like that?” Choji gasped. “What a sweet guy.”

“You think Kakashi adopted someone? Why weren’t their last names the same then?” Shikamaru chuckled, sounding like he didn’t believe Naruto.

“It-it’s true. He didn’t change her name for his own reasons I guess. When he gets back you can ask him about it yourselves.”

“No thanks. That sounds like a drag.” Shikamaru lifted his six pack up and shook it enough to make it clink then nodded to the front of the store where all the cash registers were. “It’s about time we head out. Come join us if you want, or don’t if you got something better to do. It doesn’t make a difference to either of us.”

“I’d like to see you there, Naruto,” Choji said. “It’s been a while since we could last chat and catch up.

Naruto only nodded, feeling too numb to make more words in his mouth.

They had been caught on opposite sides of a struggle neither understood, but Naruto would never in his life forget Sakura. He couldn’t imagine Shikamaru or Choji, both card carrying members of the _Sakura love & protection club_ from seventh grade, forgetting her too.

Something in his heart burned.

“On second thought, I need to talk to my old man,” Naruto said, forcing a smile. “I’ll catch you guys later!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter back in November but it's funny how Sakura's isolation matches up with my own. I've only been at home a week on break but already I'm starting to feel a little stir crazy.   
Best wishes to all you beautiful people. Stay safe, wash your hands, and keep your chin up. We'll get through this. Until then, I'll try and dig out some more fanfiction to throw at you this week since that's all I can really do.


	23. The Choice

His dad wasn’t home but Menma was.

“Where’s the old man?” Naruto demanded.

Menma grumbled, but folded the paper and tucked it under the saucer of his teacup. He was dressed in a nice three piece suit, that almost made Naruto pause to laugh, because it didn’t _suit_ Menma’s scowl at all. His twin was more suited to ripped up jeans and oversized tee shirts with leather jackets to match.

“He’s out, what do you need?” Menma grumbled.

“Why do you look like a stiff?”

“Because I’m also going out, or did you forget how I’m now interning at dad’s campaign office?”

Naruto blinked. “It’s not the right time for it though. What is he doing with his _campaign_ office?”

“If you bothered to listen to anything you’d know that his campaign office is used for more than just his campaigns. We’re drafting city ordinances for Delphinium and I’m learning the business.”

“What business?”

Menma stood and made a show of gesturing to his fancy suit. “The business of devils. You’re lucky this isn’t you. Don’t go looking for dad or he might just rope you into this regardless of mom’s wishes.”

“That’s not important right now.” Naruto couldn’t help but flap his hands in his impatience. “I need to talk to dad or Bee about something.”

“You’re gonna have to wait. He’s doing important things and won’t be back until late.”

“Is that why my calls go straight to voicemail?”

Menma reached for his teacup and sipped before pulling back enough to make a face. When he set the cup down it was still mostly full. No doubt he would have to make a coffee run before arriving. “You don’t have his work number, nimrod.”

“It’s important. I-It has to do with the games.” 

Menma didn’t move. “What about the games?”

“It’s important, I just need to talk to him. Don’t ask me to share it right now, I’m not supposed to talk about it, remember?”

“And yet you mentioned it so easily. What have you done this time?”

Naruto remembered a long time ago, when the pair of them were just kids who thought things like robins’ egg shells and paper airplanes were treasures to be envied, the twins had found something more valuable to share. Sakura had been a girl with eyes so green they looked cut from stone, and a face too soft to look as scared as it did.

They had all been stupid kids, not knowing what made her so afraid, but that hadn’t stopped them for long. After their initial, bit disastrous discovery, Naruto and Menma made amends as best they could, and chose to go back again and again, making one visit after the next to try and connect with her.

Eventually they all became friends together and stayed friends all throughout the dreaded high school and early college experience.

Until the games began and his dad turned into a brand new kind of tyrant. Everyone changed, even Menma, but Minato was the worst.

“Naruto,” Menma called again. “Hey, what were you going to say? What about the games did you plan on asking dad about?”

Naruto felt caught as another memory rose up in his mind. The three of them lost in the woods, forgetting the way back, only to guess and end up even more lost. Sakura had been such a crybaby back then, but the situation had been scary enough to make them both want to cry. Yet once her tears started rolling crying became impossible.

_‘It’s okay Sakura, I’ll get us out of this! I’m a master tracker. We’ll be home in no time. You can always count on me, promise!’_

_‘And I’ll keep you safe,’ Menma hurried to offer, pink in the face. ‘I won’t let anything bad happen to you, ever, not in a million years.’_

It had been over a decade ago,but Naruto had made a promise and so had Menma. It was time they honored that promise.

“I think something happened to Sakura. No one remembers her anymore, and it’s not the usual forgetfulness, but a full on memory wipe. No one even remembers Kakashi having a kid.”

“Sakura?” Menma echoed, eyes going wide. “What do you mean no one remembers? What are you talking about?”

Naruto felt the same uncomfortable roll return to his stomach. “Sakura, our friend; no one remembers her anymore, not even the college she attends seems to have any record of her. It’s like she vanished from everyone’s minds but mine. I ran into Ino and Kiba and asked them about it too.”

“Who is she?” Menma asked, sounding completely serious.

Naruto took a half step back, eyes wide as he looked his twin over in a new light. Menma, his twin who he had shared his fears, dreams, and crush on Sakura with…he didn’t know anything either. How?

“I can’t be the only one who remembers her. She was our friend. Don’t you remember anything about the girl with pink hair?”

“Is she someone you were close with?” Menma asked. When Naruto just stared Menma added, “How long did you know her for?”

“You can’t be serious. Not you too.”

Menma frowned, irritation clear as he turned his back on his twin to collect his things. “Forget it. I’m sorry for trying to be helpful. I’ll be late tonight, don’t call unless it’s important. You can play your games on someone else in the meantime.”

“Not you too,” he whined, watching his brother storm out of the kitchen. Moments later the front door opened and closed, rattling the doorframe with the force of the slam; a sure sign of his brother being in a mood.

When he tried to reach his mom she answered after a couple of rings but didn’t sound like she remembered the girl he described. She offered to come home from her appointment early but Naruto told her not to worry about it because he wasn’t as distressed as he sounded, it was just something silly bugging him. He disconnected the call feeling more lost than ever.

When they had last seen each other he had said such mean things to her too. He was supposed to be her friend but…he had listened to his dad and his cool new friend when he knew in his heart he shouldn’t have.

Alone in the house Naruto closed his eyes and reached for his own well of magic, feeling for it and then grabbing for it once he had a secure hold. It came rushing out, nearly overwhelming. The mark for his Gemini sign lit up and a moment later two more clones of himself were standing in the room. Naruto turned and a third and forth clone appeared.

“We need to hunt for clues about Sakura,” he spoke. “The old man has some secrets around here somewhere. Check everywhere.”

Each clone nodded in his own way and sped off. They darted to the study, his dad’s home office, the basement, and anywhere else in the house their dad might have hidden some secret. The home office was the best bet, so two clones in addition to Naruto the original started there. Almost an hour passed of pulling out and putting back different items so that their searching wouldn’t be noticed. One Naruto spent the entire time trying to get into the computer and search what he could. 

All the Naruto clones looked up as one when another Naruto ran into the room, panting. “It’s that lady! She’s here, out back!”

It took a moment to understand the meaning behind the clone’s words, but when it clicked Naruto sprang up and dismissed all his other clones. He sped through the house and down the front stairs, seeing out the window a new car in the driveway. Anko was gone, but her footprints weren’t that hard to follow until they left the backyard and entered the woods.

Another set of freckles lit up and Naruto felt the magic from his fox card transform him from the inside out. His ears grew more sensitive along with his nose and eyes. The fox made him the perfect tracker, which was what he needed to be in order to find Anko in the woods.

The woman was plenty freaky all on her own, but the way dad snuck around with her was even worse. It wasn’t like anyone expected him to be having an affair with the nutty lady, but… there was something wrong about it. Minato seemed to turn into a different person the moment he saw her, someone cold and mean who dismissed his kids at once and snapped at them to leave before he had to tell them twice. 

She was connected to the games then.

So why hadn’t she been introduced to Naruto after he got wrapped up in the games? Minato said he was doing all he could to make sure his son won the games and that their family survived it without any losses. That was why Bee came down from Ontario and took up a room in their manor. He had been identified as a duelist in the game since before they even started. Bee owed a lot of his well being to Delphinium’s mayor and Naruto understood right away why that once. He was an idiot, he wasn’t completely stupid.

Bee would repay his debt to the family, something Naruto still didn’t know the full details of, and that looked like Bee helping Naruto collect only specific cards while banishing or blocking the rest from others.They needed to make the games last as long as possible, after all, to raise their chances for survival. Dad knew all these secrets about the games but couldn’t share them.

‘Just trust me and do as I say. I know what’s best.’

A part of the game’s leftover magic prevented the winners from discussing how they became winners, and Naruto figured he couldn’t hold it against his dad since there really was no helping it.

Naruto stopped dead still in the brush when he spotted Anko several paces ahead. She almost turned back, but Naruto pressed himself flat against the dirt and waited.

A moment later Anko began walking again. Before she was out of sight Naruto crept up and followed her on all fours like a dog would. He was able to move without disturbing the brush, just like a fox that stalked its prey would.

They went a bit further into the woods until Anko stopped to crouch down and slide down the edge of a short bluff. A little further down the dip there was what looked like the remains of a house that could have been a hundred years old for how it was styled, though it looked maintained well enough.

Naruto remembered the ruins of homes and broken foundations scattered through the woods from a time when people believed the future was in a man man’s dream, but he couldn’t remember finding any free standing structures. Sakura had always been the one most obsessed with Delphinium’s darker past.

Anko let herself in and closed the door behind her. Naruto waited a moment more before stalking low to the ground along the way she went. She reached the door in no time and found it unlocked. He turned the handle and peered inside, looking before leaping for once in his life. The hallway was empty and the rooms he could see were just as bare. It was enough to convince him to slip in and shut the door behind him. He listened and couldn’t hear any signs of movement from upstairs, and the dust on the steps up didn’t make him think Anko went that way either.

With nothing to hear Naruto turned to his nose and sniffed the air for her scent. Anko smelled like magic and it made him want to grimace. There was a path for him to follow that went behind the stairs, towards the back of the house, before disappearing behind a door left open. Naruto stoped just outside the door and peered in, seeing the staircase that stretched down, down, down into a basement. He could hear Anko’s footsteps too, as well as…

“Took you long enough,” a weak voice coughed.

“You’ve made a mess,” Anko stated, sounding as bland as ever.

“You sound like you care. Will you come in and fix it if I break something?”

There was a noise before the older woman replied. “It’s not my job to do such senseless things. You’d just break it all again with that temper of yours. You can do as you like in your own room.”

“It’s not a room is a prison!” Sakura screamed. Naruto flinched hearing something bang loudly against a solid surface. “Let me out!”

“You heard what he said, this isn’t the time for you to be running around causing trouble. You may think you know what’s best but the fate of many more is at stake.”

Sakura cursed and banged against the same surface as before. “Let me out and I’ll show you trouble.”

“You weren’t able to before all of this,” Anko said. “You wouldn’t be able to do much more good if I let you out in that state, anyway.”

“You’re cruel and inhuman. I’m starving here and it’s not like I’ve showered since getting here. I’m going to get sick like this.”

“There’s a sink. Be creative.”

A beat of silence passed between the two voices, but Naruto heard moment down below, something like metal on metal scraping ageists itself. There was a smaller ‘thunk’ sound and then Anko’s footsteps began to grow louder.

“You’re leaving?” Sakura called out.

Anko’s footsteps stopped. “You’ve been fed. I’ve checked on your state and can confirm it’s nothing serious. There is no reason for me to stay behind.”

“What about you, then?” Sakura shouted again. “Why are you even with that guy? You look like a robot and you act like some mindless zombie that does his bidding. I thought you had more personality than that. You once comforted me when I was distressed, then you tried to steal all my cards. You always did whatever you wanted, why are you like this now?”

The silence this time was stiffer, and Naruto had to strain to make anything out even with his enhanced hearing. Sakura sounded like she knew the Anko woman better than either he or Menma first suspected and he wanted to know more. He took a step into the stairwell, straining to listen.

“You….don’t know anything.”

“Then tell me if I don’t know. I haven’t done anything wrong!”

Anko took a handful of steps and Naruto backtracked, but he brushed the door and it creaked, making her look up and see him at the last second. Her eyes flashed with recognition and then a malicious smile stretched across her lips.

“Anko?!”

But the woman laughed and launched herself up the flight of stairs, impossibly fast. Naruto doubled than tripled, putting a number of clones between himself and her that she tore through effortlessly. A number of writhing snake heads slipped back into the folds of her jacket as her freckles lit up all over her body.

“Looks like someone remembered. I should have known the magician’s magic wouldn’t have worked on other duelists. Too bad you never managed to make friends with any of them,” Anko laughed back down the stairwell.

“What are you doing?” Naruto demanded, crouching low and letting the stronger aspects of the fox take over. “Why is Sakura down there? Do you have something to do with why no one can remember her?”

“It doesn’t matter. There’s more than one way to skin a snake. If magic won’t make you forget….” Anko grinned as one of her thicker servants slithered outaround her wrist. “There are other ways to get what I want.”

“Just tell me already, damn it!” Naruto screamed.

Her snake arched then struck and Naruto barely had enough time to roll away. When he popped back up he manifest three more clones to rush the woman. They didn’t get far, but they were enough to distract her long enough for Naruto to get around her and duck back down the stairwell she had just come up. He kicked the door shut behind him and another pair of clones braced against it to keep Anko out.

He almost stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Sakura, bloody hands pressed up against the glass, looking thin and gaunt with limp hair and bags under her eyes. It hadn’t been long since she went missing, by his best guess, but she looked stressed to the point of sickness at the very least. Around her the room that was her prison was trashed. The bed overturned and a bookshelf on its side, cracked and splintered in places.

“Naruto!” She gasped when she saw his face and then there were tears. He felt like the world’s worst person when she began to cry for him. She banged against the glass again and called his name.

The game didn’t matter anymore. Winning and losing didn’t matter. Not even his dad mattered anymore when her tears started to fall. His heart swelled and pinched painfully in his chest as he took another step closer to her.

_‘It’s okay Sakura, I’ll get us out of this! I’m a master tracker. We’ll be home in no time. You can always count on me, promise!’_

_“_Damn it, what did they do?” Naruto breathed, nearly tripping over his own feet to reach her. The glass got in his way but he banged on it once and then tried with his magic to make it shatter. The glass held up and in a growl of frustration he swiped at it again with his claws.

“Naruto, stop, it’s not going to work like that, I tried.”

“What happened?” Naruto asked instead.

“I made a mistake,” Sakura huffed, sliding down the glass. Her fingers streaked through the old blood stains and they flaked under her fingers. She sank on the floor and leaned her face against the glass, looking tired. “I let my guard down and I never saw her coming. She used her magic to make everyone forget about me. How did you…”

“It didn’t work on me, I-I’m not sure why. Sakura, please believe me, I never meant for any of this to happen to you. I’m so sorry. It’s my fault. I should have trusted you but I didn’t. I thought-I-I didn’t think!”

He felt one of his clones poof out of existence and manifested another three to take its place. He wasn’t about to let Anko disturb this change he got with Sakura, not after everything they’ve been through.

“No, I heard you, during the fight with Gaara. You told me to run away.” Sakura managed a weak smile. “I heard that. Thanks, it meant a lot to me.”

“But Sakura, you’re super strong, I mean-stronger than me. How are you still locked up here?” Naruto banged on the glass and frowned at the way it absorbed the shock.

“I don’t have my powers right now. She-” Sakura hissed and reached up to her neck to push back her hair and show off the mark. “Her snake bit me and I’ve been unable to summon any of my cards or even talk to them.”

“T-talk to them? You can do that?”

“Not with all of them, just Ashura and Indra.”

Naruto frowned, glancing at her arms where a number of freckles were scattered. “How can you fix it? Do I have to kill Anko for you?”

Sakura’s eyes sparked with new life and she laughed. The sound made Naruto’s chest pinch again. He missed that sound.

“I don’t know. I think whatever hold she has on me is wearing down over time, which is why they’re keeping me so underfed and malnourished. It’s exhausting to fight back, but…I’ve been able to have dreams again, the kind I normally get from one of my cards, so I think I’m getting close to breaking the spell.”

“I’m going to get you out of here, I promise.” Naruto stood and backed up, his whole body suddenly bursting into flame as a pair of twin fox tails flickered behind him. “Stand back!”

Sakura scrambled for the far corner of her prison and pressed her body up against the wall. Shepulled the mattress up as an after thought, ducking behind it.

Naruto roared, looking more like a fox and less like a man. The room went red as his fire rolled into a ball and then shot across the room to smack into the glass. It shook under the strain, and cracks started to spread as Naruto poured more and more of himself into the magic meant to burn and melt any obstacle that got in his way.

The glass cracked from ceiling to floor and then Naruto threw one last flaming kick into it, shattering the barrier into several jagged pieces.

“Sakura!” Naruto cheered, running in.

Sakura heard the glass crunch under his boots and pushed the mattress aside in time to see Anko looming right behind him, a silver red snake with its mouth wide open.

She only had time to scream before Naruto went down.


	24. The Twist

“That’s not how this was suppose to go,” Anko sighed, glancing down at the limp body at her feet. Naruto was out cold. “But look at what you made me do.”

Sakura stood, staggering only slightly when the room started throb. She felt thin and half filled. She was too tired for an encounter and she didn’t even have access to any of her magic.

“You’re not supposed to touch him. He’s Minato’s son!”

“And he’s far too early for any of this. You’re not ready to be slaughtered and he’s not ready to kill you.” Anko shrugged. “Even accidentally.”

_Crunch_

_Splat_

_Crunch_

_Splat_

Sakura’s heart stopped and stuttered back to beating in her chest. She remembered too vividly the day her brother died and how his marks became hers. _Accidentally_! It had been an _accident_ but his marks became hers.

It would have been so easy for him to take care of two birds with one stone; get rid of her and empower Naruto. More than just her cards and freckles, her death would make the games more real to Naruto. It also made sense why Minato bothered to keep her alive at all if he really thought she was as terrible as he said she was. Or at the very least, seal her away in a card like Kakashi.

Anko reached down to grab for Naruto but something in Sakura snapped.

“Don’t touch him!” she snarled.

She was as empty as a tank turned upside down, but she still charged and wrapped her arms around Anko’s torso and rolled into the woman. The pair of them went down together.

Sakura only had her anger to claw out with, and it wasn’t much compared to the snakes that came out of Anko’s coat to wrap around Sakura. She screamed and thrashed but was pinned down easily.

“No!” she screamed, but her voice sounded broken even to her own ears. Her voice was a shattered thing she was struggling to force out.

Anko leaned down close to Sakura’s face, close enough for her to smell the woman’s breath. “You’re angry?”

“Like hell,” Sakura hissed out.

“Good, then maybe you’ll be able to survive.” A snake started to curl up under Sakura’s neck. She could feel another one curling up under her shirt across the stomach. “Don’t you want that?”

Sakura hissed, biting her bottom lip and feeling how dehydrated she really was. She hated her limits.

“Let us go, this isn’t your game anymore,” Sakura coughed out feeling tears in her eyes rolling free off the sides of her face. “Just leave us alone. I don’t want to kill anyone, I don’t want to fight anyone-I-I don’t even want to win I just want you to leave me alone!” 

Anko’s face pinched and her lips pulled thin as she leaned even closer, her hair falling out to curtain the both of them. “And that’s your problem,” Anko whispered into Sakura’s ear. “That’s why you’re here. You’ve no teeth.”

Sakura wanted to reach out and snap Anko’s neck with her teeth to prove her wrong, but the snake under her shirt was coiling. She struggled up, trying to get away but Anko tugged her back.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Let go of me!” Sakura tried to kick but there was a snake there around her knees too, pinning them together. “_Don’t-_.”

“Why would I let you go? To waste away and scorn the potential you’ve inherited? Kakashi was wrong to shelter you and that’s why you’re here now. If you want to be mad, be mad, but be made at the right people.”

There was a pop and then the lights flickered. Anko pulled back and looked up to the wall where a recess light began to smoke. The panel started to fall away and she smirked when the camera inside fell with it.

The snakes all slithered back up into her coat. She grabbed Sakura by her shoulder and hauled her up onto her feet.

“Hurry. We don’t have much time left. Grab the brat.” Her voice was different, no longer menacing or cold.

Sakura reached for Naruto, but a new snake was pulling him along and then Anko had Naruto over her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Sakura asked, a bit too lost to put the pieces together on her own. Anko’s personality had switched too fast. It was still too much for her to catch up with.

“Shut up and make it up the stairs before he resets the damn cameras,” Anko snapped. “Stupid idiot kids.”

There was a light in the older woman’s eyes that was near manic, a light that had been absent the entire time she stood behind Minato or did his bidding. Something started to feel like it was making sense and Sakura wasn’t sure she was ready to acknowledge it.

Sakura hauled up the stairs, banging her knee at one point and then scrambling to recover and make it out through the broken door Naruto’s clones had failed to protect. She made it out and fell against a wall, sagging. Anko Kicked through the door next.

“Don’t stop!”

“I’m not,” Sakura snapped, even as the room spun. She pushed off the wall and wobbled.“I’m not…tired.”

Anko made a noise of displeasure. “You’re a mess. Here-”

Sakura bit back a scream as a new snake sunk his fangs into the back of her leg. A moment later something new pulsed in her veins and the drowsiness was gone, replaced with adrenaline.

“It’s a little boost but it won’t last for long. We need to make tracks, now!”

Anko took off first with Naruto limp over her shoulder. Sakura wasn’t far behind, running crooked but faster than before. Her head throbbed but she didn’t have the same sort of dizzy spells that came from hunger and dehydration. Or maybe she did and she just couldn’t feel them anymore.

The pair pushed on out of the house into the woods and down a dell, slopped low and lower so that the forest raised up on either side of the path they followed.

Anko had been right about the boost being temporary. As soon as it wore off Sakura felt it hit harder and stronger than anything else. She face planted in the dirt and lay there, all but dead to the world as her brain screamed in pain.

“Damn, that didn’t last as long as I hoped it would.”

Sakura heard Anko job back and deposit Naruto down on the ground. Sakura tried to roll over but it was Anko that ended up tugging her onto her back.

“Come on, once I unleash your magic you can use that to make energy.”

“I need…food, ass….” Sakura breathed, barely able to see with her eyes wide open.

“Magic can be used to substitute both food and water.”

Sakura felt her eyes roll in the direction of Anko’s voice but she couldn’t properly see the older woman. “How?”

Anko scoffed. “You’ll know how to do that if you’re really desperate enough.”

Another snake bit at her neck, right over the original marks from Anko’s attach in the dark. Sakura felt like a river run dry only to suddenly brace against the force of an unleashed dam blown wide open. She felt the magic in her mouth and in her throat and it swelled down into her stomach like the ghost of something pleasant. Magic spilled into her veins and ran with her blood. Her vision returned, clear and bright, and blinding.

“SAKURA!” Two voices called out at once.

She reached up for both Ashura and Indra as they folded her between them, pressing her tight between their joined arms. Ashura was crying on her and she could feel his tears hit her face while Indra just shook around her.

“What did you do to her?” Indra demanded over Sakura’s head, glaring at Anko.

“We couldn’t find you,” Ashura lamely added, sounding just as tired as she felt. “We looked so far and long for you.”

“You’re made of magic, there was nothing you could have done as long as Yubel’s venom was in her.” Anko sighed with a roll of her eyes, absently petting the snake named Yubel as it curled over her shoulder. The snake glanced back and then closed its eyes to rest more fully on Anko’s shoulder.

“What’s the truth though?” Sakura forced her voice to say. “You did this to me, but you undid it too. Why?”

“Why?” Anko echoed, blinking in confusion. “I thought it might be more clear to you but I guess your brain has been mush for too long. The kid’s old man forced my hand. It was on his orders I did what I did.”

“He ordered you to let me go?” Sakura scoffed.

“No, not that part, obviously. Listen, kid. I don’t hate you, but I’m stuck in my own role here and as long as he watches I gotta play the part. He has something over me.”

“And that justifies your abduction and torture?” Ashura snapped, voice louder than before. He glared through his tears. “You hurt her!”

“A lot more people are going to suffer far worse before this game is finished, grow a pair why don’t cha.” Anko flipped her hand over her shoulder and sighed before refocusing her attention on Sakura once more. “Listen kid, the original plan was to keep you locked up until the first deck had been played, or until the first stage of the game finished up. Then his kid was going to be the closest one to you when an accident happened and, voila, Naruto has all your powers now and he can stop Gaara. I was tasked with getting rid of Kakashi for that reason. He would have tried to stop us.”

“Then let him go now! You’re doing what you want by letting us escape, so let Kakashi free!” Sakura pleaded, zeroing in on that detail. The fact that her death had been premeditated and planned barely phased her in comparison to seeing Kakashi again.

“Can’t do that. You’ll have to break him free, but you’re on the right track. I’d say you’re only a couple more cards shy of being strong enough to force yourself through and break my spell. And hey, look, now you’re free and able to do that.”

“You were planning on killing Sakura,” Indra stated, making the whole forest seem still. To him, that was likely the only detail he heard that made sense.

“Not me, someone else. It would have looked like an accident. And there’s a lot more going on that you don’t know about-stuff I literally can’t explain. And besides, that’s not going to happen now. Yubel’s venom only works once.”

“Why are you going against him if he has something over you?” Sakura asked.

“Because I wanted to since the beginning!” Anko’s voice pitched higher and her eyes were wide as she rushed through her words. “You-I meant to help you along with Guy. I thought he-no-Minato would want you as an ally to Naruto. You weren’t like the other one from the compound. You had changed thanks to Kakashi and you turned out alright. He just didn’t believe you. Damn idiot has been acting so long he doesn’t believe anyone is honest about anything.” 

“But you believed me?”

Anko went still, watching Sakura who was still stuck between two brothers with an open face and neutral expression. “Yeah. I wanted to.”

“Why?”

Anko’s lip curled. “Because where you come from isn’t who you are and even if I’m wrong, I wanna believe that we’re not exclusively the product of our environments.”

The forest felt like it was falling away. Ashura and Indra were still there, but all Sakura could seem to pay attention to was Anko and her words. It was the most honesty she had felt from the woman since their first meeting. Anko’s face was unguarded and in that moment, she seemed far younger than she should have been. Sakura looked up at a woman, but she felt like she was staring out at a girl.

“What if we are and I’m only a good person because of the environment Kakashi raised me in?” Sakura asked in little more than a whisper.

“Then you chose his example over the other and it was still your choice to change.”

Sakura nodded slowly, understanding Anko a little better. It wasn’t trust, but there was now understanding between the two of them.

“Then what happens now?” Indra asked, interrupting the moment. “What will you do next?”

“Me?” Anko pointed to herself. “I’ve gotta go back to that guy. I’ll bring him his son and that should be good enough. I can tell him you overpowered me and I wasn’t able to stop you or something.”

“He’ll send you after us again,” Ashura said.

She shrugged. “You’re more powerful than me. He’d be stupid to do that.”

“What about the spell you spun…the one where…everyone is supposed to have forgotten me?” Sakura swallowed. “Naruto said it didn’t work on him.”

“It’s because he is a duelist. It worked on everyone else but that will fade with your own magic overpowering mine. They’ll remember gradually over time, but if they see you it will all come back at once.” Anko made a hand motion like an explosion was going off in front of her brain that left her will a limp tongue. “Sorry, you’re just going to be a headache for people for a while.”

“I think we should lay low for a while then,” Ashura whispered into Sakura’s ear. “You also need to regain your strength and get better.”

“I’m feeling better,” she said. A weak smile did little to convince either brother.

Anko huffed but stomped past both of them to where Naruto lay limp in the grass and picked him up again. Her snake slithered back up her sleeve as she shifted Naruto onto her shoulder to carry back.

“One last thing,” she called out. “You wanna help me sell my story?”

Indra stood up first, understanding the meaning of her question. “I’m not a fighter type, but there is nothing I would want more.”

Ashura hugged Sakura once more before standing up and manifesting a sword in his hand. “Allow me, brother.”

Indra nodded and stepped back to block Sakura from the sight. She still moved around Indra to watch as Ashura surged and slashed Anko from shoulder to hip and then once more across her face, just missing her eye. They were shallow wounds that bled enough.

“Indra,” Sakura urged. “Make sure she can make it back.”

Begrudgingly, the older brother moved up and began to heal Anko’s wounds, but not enough that they would disappear.

“Thanks, buddies,” Anko laughed, grunting from the pain. “Couldn’t ask for better service.”

“Just get out of here and hope we don’t run across each other again,” Indra warned. “Even if you did save Sakura in the end, we won’t forget who it was who dragged her into that hell in the first place.”

Anko’s smile didn’t waver. “Of course.”

Ashura waved his sword from behind them. “Next time I won’t miss.”

Anko readjusted Naruto on her shoulder and turned around, heading back in the opposite direction.

Ashura carried Sakura as Indra applied healing magics to her head to help alleviate some of the strain her body had been put through over the past few days. ‘Consuming’ her own magic helped cancel out the negative effects of dehydration and mild starvation, but it didn’t alleviate any of the pains.

Both brothers promised they would get her something to eat as soon as they could, but they didn’t take her home. Instead they tried deeper into the woods, down a path they only knew, until they came to the manor Sakura had run away to so many times. Once a ruin, now it stood tall and proud, more polished than before.

The sun was low but the electric lights were on inside the house and Sakura could smell a fireplace somewhere, burning wood.No one stopped them from letting themselves in. No one stopped them when they found food in the kitchen to prepare for her. No one stopped them when they claimed the master suit and ran a bath for her.

Before the night settled into the sky she stopped Ashura. “My dogs, what happened to them?”

The brothers shared a look before Ashura offered to go check. “I’ll be back soon, don’t worry,” he said, kissing her once on her forehead before slipping away.

“How many days has it been?” Sakura asked.

She stood at the foot of the claw foot tub, watching it fill up with warm water that bubbled with sweet smelling soap. Indra had his hand in the water, checking the temperature.

“I’m not sure, but more than a couple. I had no concept of time while locked away. To us, it felt like only minutes ago we last were a part of this world, beside you.”

Indra looked up from the water and reached for her with his free hand. She took the steps to close the distance and kneel beside him. He ran his fingers through her hair and cupped the base of her skull. His thumb trailed a lazy circle that made her want to close her eyes and lay down.

“It was days…I can’t remember how many,” Sakura said, voice soft and far removed. “They all felt the same. It’s just not Christmas yet, is it?”

“I don’t think so.”

Sakura shuddered against the cold and pulled the folds of her robe tighter. “Before Christmas…I’m going to bring him back. I’ll bring him back in time to celebrate again. You’ll like Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday.”

“Tell me about it.”

Sakura watched the bubbles multiply, foaming white and pink. “For us, it starts out with just the two of us. We wrap a ton of presents for the dogs first, and don’t laugh, we just have a fun time watching them tear through the wrapping paper to get to their toys and treats. Then we exchange presents and make breakfast together. We listen to carols and sing along with them too. We go out on a long walk together and then come back in time to pack up Christmas dinner in time to take it to someone’s house and spend the rest of the day with them. It’s not the same each year, but it’s always…always my favorite.”

Indra hummed in encouragement, turning the water off before it overflowed. “What else do you do during this season?”

“I bake a lot. I cook food in the kitchen with Kakashi each night once school ends for me. We decorate and hang lights that I never want to take down.” Sakura broke off into a soft chuckle. “Oh, but Kakashi takes them down when I’m out of the house and he scolds me for it.”

Indra leaned in and brushed his knuckles across her face, wiping away the tears. “I remember your joy,” he said.

Sakura remembered in that moment how Indra had been there for all her Kakashi Christmases. He had been there for the lights and trees and presents. He had been there for the food and deserts and ghost stories shared in front of the fire. The games she played with kids and the song she sang for Kakashi’s benefit.

“Do you remember what his favorite carol was? He was always such a good tenor.” Sakura flushed when she remembered how Kakashi would always cave and sing for her if she asked him, even though she knew he didn’t want to. He never sang in front of anyone else.

“I remember.”

Sakura stood and fidgeted with her robe. Indra took the hint and let himself out, shutting the door behind him in time to hear the silk of her robe pool around her ankles. The door never latched. Through the crack too thin to see through, but wide enough to let the notes drift in, Indra sang.

“God red ye merry Gentlmen, let nothing you dismay….”

Sakura sank into the waters and let the warm bubbles lap up over her shoulders as she sank up to her ears. She closed her eyes and knew it was Indra on the other side of the door, but she also remembered Kakashi and her heart hurt for too many reasons. Her heart hurt from missing, from the music, and from the love she felt from Indra as he sang to her in deep velvet lyrics, a carol from a long ago time that never felt new.

“ Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, oooh tidings of comfort and joy….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my defense, when I drafted this the first time it was December and I was listening to Hozier sing chirstmas carols and his rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen was the sexiest thing my ears had ever heard. I know it's like, June but...for Sakura and the gang the holiday season is right around the corner and I have no regrets, only shame. 
> 
> Link: ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcpHqJk-xLg )
> 
> Also, a note on Minato, he was the victor from the last games in an unprecedented turn of events where the majority of duelists survived-it hasn't been done like that before. Additionally, the person doing his dirty work is Anko, and not by choice. There is a reason it's her and not someone else.  
:)


	25. Corona Borealis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fixed chapter - Correct one uploaded this time!

She might have fallen asleep in the tub or maybe the minutes melted into hours without her notice. Sakura stayed in the water until the bubbles were all but gone and then she finally managed to pull herself free, feeling cleaner than she had in days.

She drained the tub, toweled her hair and ran a brush through it before braiding it off to the side. The door was shut but she could hear new sounds on the other side; Indra’s song long finished. She rubbed at her face, watching in the mirror and barely feeling any of it.

Then there were the rapid footsteps that made her drop her brush and dash for the door in nothing but a towel and robe left open to flap behind her like broken wings. She threw the door open and cried out before sinking to her knees in front of her dogs.

Ginger was running around her in circles and then trying to climb over her, licking all the while. Mop threw his whole body up against her and was whining almost as much as Bagel.Chainsaw was in Indra’s arms, wriggling to get free and join his siblings in loving Sakura. Ashura knelt beside her and rubbed Ginger down until she was on her back, showing her belly in hopes of getting more love and attention.

Sakura didn’t care that she was crying this time. She sobbed openly and grabbed for Bagel to hold as Mop scratched at her for love. She kissed them and rubbed her face into all their sides, calling their names and breaking down.

“Thank you,” she whispered to Ashura once she was able to look up from her dogs. “You brought them home.”

“I’m glad yo love them so much. They made a mess out of the house looking for food. There had been no one there to feed them.”

“My babies,” she cooed, rubbing her hands up and down Mop’s sides. She could feel his ribs again and didn’t doubt Ashura’s words.

Indra coughed awkwardly in the background and looked up, a blush high on his cheeks. “We-we’ll wait outside so you can get dressed with the dogs. Call us when you’re ready. Here, come on Ashura.”

Sakura reached up on reflex to press the low front of her towel closer to her chest to hide her modest cleavage. She blushed and averted her eyes, listening as the brothers shuffled out even though she knew it wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen before. If Indra remembered as much as he did about her life, then it was likely…

“It’s okay.”

Ashura and Indra froze, steps away from the threshold. Both kept their backs to her.

“It’s…okay,” Sakura echoed. “You don’t have to leave. I just…my things are right here and it won’t take long. Don’t leave me just yet.”

Ashura started to turn back but Indra reached out and grabbed his brother behind his head, shoving Ashura out ahead of him. He grabbed the door and called back over his shoulder, “We’ll be back in a minute!” before hurting to shut it behind him.

Sakura stared at where they once stood and sighed, feeling foolish for even entertaining the idea of maybe…what? What had she been thinking?

She dressed and dried off with a new towel that wasn’t damp all the way through. Mop grabbed her discarded towel and ran around the room with Bagel chasing him and then tugging at the other end of the towel that still smelled like her. Chainsaw stayed close to her feet and Ginger pranced around in excitement whenever she moved.

When Sakura was finished all her dogs trailed after her up to the door, but it was Ginger who dashed out first, running for Ashura who was crouching at the end of the hall with his arms crossed over the tops of his knees. He looked up and fell backwards on his but when the Golden Retriever attacked him with kisses.

“Where did Indra go?” Sakura asked when she glanced back and only found an empty hallway.

“To go get more snacks. He said he was hungry and worried you might be too,” Ashura answered, grinning at the way Ginger tried to get more pets out of him. His eyes lit up with a new idea before turning towards Sakura. “Hey, wanna see if there’s anything to drink?”

“Drink?” Sakura echoed.

“Yeah, like a night cap. It’s late but not too late to enjoy a little booze, right?”

Sakura chuckled, reaching down to take Chainsaw into her arms. “I guess I was silly for thinking you were talking about water. I don’t see the harm in it as long as we don’t indulge. A little something before bed would be nice.”

Ashura shot to his feet and threw an arm behind her shoulders. “I haven’t had booze in a good long while. I’ve been secretly vying for it but too embarrassed to ask.”

“Is that where all the beer went?”

“Hey, it didn’t look like you were going to use it up.”

Sakura laughed, leaning into his side and keeping pace with him as they took the main staircase down to the front hall before heading into the kitchens. “The beer Kakashi usually buys is gross. I’m a bit more partial to drinks that actually taste good while getting you buzzed.”

“What’s that like?”

Sakura snickered at his joking.

She heard the shuffling in the kitchen and wasn’t surprised to see Indra, pulling ingredients out to assemble a simple sandwich. There were a couple of plates already made up and she recognized the one meant for her by the triangle cut she preferred.

“If you were still hungry,” he explained, gesturing to the plate before pushing it towards her.

“Now that I see it in front of me, yeah, I am.”Sakura reached for the food and sank her teeth into the bread with a happy sound. She chewed and swallowed her first mouthful before looking up again. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

Sakura heard the clink of glasses and turned in time to see Ashura holding up a couple of long whine bottles with old labels. He grinned before waving the one in his left hand slightly. “It’s not bad tasting beer.”

Sakura held out her hand and took the first bottle, inspecting the label for anything resembling an expiration date or bottle by date, but there wasn’t anything new there for her to learn.

“1902 Chateau Lafite Rothschild,” she read aloud. “That’s well over 100 years old but the label looks perfect and new.”

“This place is a resurrected sanctuary, the food and clothing here isn’t expired. As long as the game goes on and glass cards are found, this place will continue to stock everything you want or need,” Indra explained. He picked up a block of cheese to make a point before waving it. “See?”

“How would you know something like that?” Ashura asked with a scoff. He set the other wine bottle down and began to hunt for glasses.

“It’s something Sakura was taught when she was very young, but forgot.”

“Me?” Sakura sat up.

Indra nodded, turning around to help Ashura find the right type of glasses for such a wine. “There are places, four different ones to be precise, that grow more tangible the more cards from their suit are found. The whole surrounding area, and not just the house, is connected to the glass cards. I’m from the glass suite while Ashura is from the gold suite so I feel more of a resonance with this place.”

“That still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. This was a real place that existed in my world before the games. It was just in ruins from age. That’s normal.”

“It’s been magically restored because it was constructed in the first place with magic from the games. I don’t know the details myself, but I feel a lot of truth in what I’m saying. The games were held here, over a hundred years ago.”

Ashura accepted the glasses Indra found for him out of an overhead cabinet. “It makes enough sense for me. I mean…this place is magic, right? You said it was in ruins but now it’s stocked with good wine and warm beds and anything you might need. I mean, stranger things have happened.”

Sakura ran a hand through her bangs and grumbled. “I don’t remember learning anything else about this sort of stuff, but I was taught it?”

Indra nodded. “Back when you were still being raised in the compound with your brother and the other duelists.”

“Gaara,” Ashura helpfully scoffed.

“Gaara,” Sakura echoed. Her thoughts snapped back to the last time she saw him and the memory he inspired in her later that day. She remembered the game of checkers and his small, innocent smile. He was a killer now, but back then he had been just a kid she made friends with. “I remember him a little bit.”

Indra nodded. “The two of you were very close and it seemed like he was quite fond of you over the others. His cousin was much older but not the kindest when it came to how he treated Gaara or any of the other children.”

Ashura frowned. “Then why was he trying to kill Sakura?”

“I don’t think he was,” she cut in. When Ashura frowned at her she hurried to explain. “During the last encounter when I was trying to get away, he could have hurt me or been more aggressive, but he wasn’t. When I was hurt he-he caught me and lowered me to safety.” 

_She stumbled up to her feet and turned. Gaara was there, looking devastated at the sight of her, like she was the root of some great travesty. He made a sound, not quite a word, and reached for her_.

“I remember,” Indra said. He moved a third wine glass across the counter for Ashura to fill after the first two were set down in front of Sakura and Ashura himself.

“I don’t think he wanted to hurt me. I was scared of him and that sort of freaked him out more than anything. I wasn’t a threat to him, but he ran away from that fight. I think he remembers us being close. Maybe he doesn’t want to fight me. Maybe he wanted to be allies or friends again.”

“How close were the two of them?” Ashura asked his brother, sounding disgruntled about the question itself.

“Close enough. The kid likely didn’t have many positive elements in his childhood. Sakura would have stood out as one of his best or most favored memories. It’s not such a leap to consider Sakura’s theory, that Gaara is indeed remembering their relationship from before her memory loss and acting on it. He could have killed her but didn’t.”

Ashura made a noise of displeasure before tilting his glass back and swallowing a mouthful of wine after holding it in his mouth for the taste of it. He shrugged and then moved to clink his glass against Sakura’s before taking another sip, ‘to her health.’

Indra did the same, clinking his wine glass against hers and wishing her good health before tilting it back. Sakura drank last and finished off the rest of her sandwich before asking for a refill of her nightcap.

“We can take it with us, come on,” Ashura interrupted, grabbing his wineglass and the extra bottle before heading back upstairs with it.

Sakura and Indra followed him back to the room where Ashura was arranging his things on the steam trunk in front of the fire. There was a large fur rug in front of the fireplace he sank down onto before crossing his legs and reaching for his glass again. He pat the carpet beside him when she stopped at the edge.

“Join me here.” 

“Please don’t tell me you’re already buzzed with just two glasses,” Sakura laughed, following him onto the carpet. Indra crouched down next to her and folded his legs under him at her side.

“Unfortunately no, I’m still a bit too sober for the sort of evening we had,” Ashura said.

“We?” Sakura snorted. “You were asleep for most of it.”

“And it was a terrible sleep. The worst one yet.”

“You know that how?”

He shrugged before responding. “Most of the time I don’t care if I’m asleep or awake, it’s no difference to me, but now it’s so much better when I’m awake. I feel like I miss out when I’m asleep and I don’t ever want to have to close my eyes again.”

“That,” Sakura chuckled while lifting up her glass, “sounds like the wine talking.”

“What does alcohol inspire expect honesty?” Ashura frowned when she laughed again. “I mean it!”

“I know you do, I’m sorry for laughing.”

Sakura knocked back the rest of her drink finishing it in a final gulp only for Ashura to lean over and fill her glass back up. She nursed what was left of her drink, taking her time getting through it. She was content to sit beside the brothers as they sipped at their own drinks, just as silent. The fire threw different shades of orange over them in the absence of all the other electric lights. A few had been turned on, but they were dim and the fireplace was wide enough to stretch out inside of. Unlike the last one, there was no grate to keep the fire back or block Sakura’s view so she sat and watched each flame and flicker of the fire dance along the length of the logs until it looked like it would need to be turned.

Indra and Ashura both looked up as she moved towards the fireplace, neither speaking. Sakura picked up an iron fire poker and used it to shift the logs over to encourage the flame. The silk of her pajamas turned from ivory to gold in the soft light. When she turned around both of the boys were still watching her. _Her_ boys.

“Thank you,” Indra said first.

Sakura turned back around and poked at the logs again, doing nothing new. “It’s just the fire. No need to thank me for something like that.”

“No. Not for that.”

She looked back over her shoulder at Ashura who spoke and then Indra.

Her throat felt tight but she pushed the words out, knowing she needed to say something. “I know,” she croaked. Her voice was broken. She coughed and then tried again. “I know how you feel…both of you. Thank you.”

They were partly words, she knew it, but they were all she had. The way the brothers looked at her might be dismissed with words like loyalty and chivalry or even friendship, but deep down Sakura knew better.

Indra’s fingers twisted into the fur of the carpet, knuckles going white as he pulled at it like it was the only thing that kept him from floating away.From where he sat, Ashura watched on, expression unreadable.

“You don’t know,” Indra said. He swallowed hastily and then ducked his chin, averting his eyes. “But that’s fine. You don’t need to know that. Right now there are more important things to worry about.”

Ashura made a sound but a cutting glare from Indra made him stop. With a huff Ashura turned his glass upside down and drained what was left of the wine into his mouth. Then he fell backwards onto his back.

“Fine!” he exclaimed.

Ashura waved a hand to encourage Ginger to come over and climb all over. She trotted over and then rolled so that her belly was up next to him. Indra was the one who reached over to scratch her stomach and she ended up rolling in his direction.

Sakura replaced the fire poker and picked up the empty wine glasses off the floor to set on the nearby vanity. She felt like she needed to do something to keep from saying anything more. The room was already warm enough with the fireplace, she didn’t need their words making her feel hot and bothered.

Indra left Ginger to set his still half filled wine glass next to hers, finished with it for the night. Next to her, he cleared his throat and adopted a less broken voice.

“For now on, if you want us to rest inside our cards that’s one thing, but I think it best if at least one of us is out and about at all times so we can avoid situations like Anko’s in the future.

“Agreed!” Ashura called out, waving a hand up in the air while still spread out atop the rug.

“I can keep both of you out, it’s not that big of a drain. You both use infinitesimally less magic than any other card I have.”

“Well, warrior cards are like that. The drawbacks of course are that we can be a pain in the ass if we don’t like our master. It’s not like you compile us to do anything. If you were a sexist old fuck I wouldn’t do what you told me to,”Ashura rambled from underneath the arm he had draped across his eyes. “I can do what I want.”

“Don’t whine,” Indra sighed. “You sound like an idiot.”

“Whine?” Ashura moved his arm enough to glare up at his brother. “I was making a valid point.”

“Yes, but you sounded like a drunk.”

Ashura made a face the expressed how offended he was at his brother’s accusations and Sakura had trouble keeping the smile off her lips.

“I had _three-_no_, four_ glasses of wine, that’s nowhere near enough for a buzz.”

“You’re the glutton of the two of us.”

“Cause I can hold it down!”

Sakura laughed behind her wrist, trying to hide her smile. It was no use, the brothers were too keen to miss out and both turned as one to look up at her once they heard the sound.

“You both sound like you get along better than before.”

Indra scoffed and Ashura’s jaw hung open as he sat back on his elbows.

“What of that sounds like two people getting along?” Indra asked while Ashura bobbed his head along, only to still and stop once he realized what he was doing.

“I’m not complaining. I’m glad to hear it. You’re stronger when you work together for one thing.” Sakura raised a single finger and then added another. “And furthermore it’s just more fun for everyone in the room when you’re getting along.”

“I’m glad you’re happy about it, but when you put it so bluntly, I don’t know why, but it makes me want to pick a fight with my brother and mess it all up,” Ashura groaned.

“Childish,” Indra scoffed in response.

Behind them Mop stood up from where he had been laying at the base of the bed. Ginger stood too and the rest of the dogs turned to face the doorway, but it was Bagel who took off running first. The pack ran barking down the stairs and Sakura hurried to follow them. Ashura and Indra ran at her sides down and out the hallway.

Once in the foyer the dogs started to circle and sniff, triggered by something that was close but unseen.

“Sakura,” Ashura called, pointing to a light caught in something reflective from inside the greenhouse. It was an easy jog to make and before long Sakura was staring into the fountain that showed her the image of a card in her forest.

“That’s not far,” she breathed.

“A card so close?” Indra asked. “You don’t think that’s suspicious?”

“No, the magic must be drawing it here. Come on, you heard what that snake lady said. Sakura only needs a couple more before she’s powerful enough to break those curses.”

“It’s moving,” Sakura exclaimed, noticing the tail of light as it streaked through the trees. “Come on!”

Sakura stumbled outside and turned behind her to keep the dogs locked in where they would be safest. She pulled Ashura and Indra into their cards then mounted her newly summoned Stag. The animal bound through the forest, crossing great distances with a single leap, taking her closer and closer to the shooting card.

The light diverted through the trees and changed direction sharply, forcing her to adjust accordingly. More than once she thought it might turn too sharply and fall out of sight, but the dark was her ally, making the card’s light the greatest beacon a midnight forest could hope to boast. Sakura soon realized that the shooting card she chased wasn’t anywhere ready to slow down and stop, but that was fine. It could travel across the world if it wanted to. She knew how to chase such things.

Sakura heard the water before she saw it. The forest fell away and the Stag was airborne across the ever-stretching Lake Lookeye. They were beyond the boundaries of Delphinium now, as the lake was a good two hour drive or 78 mile excursion into deeper woodlands if someone started from the heart of their town.

The Stag touched down on the surface of the old lake, standing atop the water like it was glass.Sakura looked over the edge and saw what little moonlight made it through the waters bounce off the white wood steeply of a sunken church. The rest of the town made eerie shadows in the water. Over a hundred years ago, the lake had been a town that had been emptied to make the dam and lake. At the far edge of Lookeye the generators turned and powered a neighboring town with power, while the olde corners and edges still held onto their ghost stories.

The lake had always unnerved Sakura, but when she looked again, she felt a new depth of discomfort. Like her ruins in the woods, the town under the lake had reversed itself. The crumbled walls were built back up, the devastated roadways and paths put back in place. Sakura leaned over further and saw the windows filled with glass once more.

“What the hell,” she breathed aloud to herself.

‘It’s another enchanted area, connected to the cards,’ Indra explained. ‘Silver ones..’

‘Be careful, Sakura!’ Ashura added.

“This won’t take long,” she said, turning back to face where the card rotated in midair, glowing like a white flame over the water. The shadows under it stretched further and she could see the steeple from the church even more clearly.

Sakura urged the Stag forward and it crossed the lake in the blink of an eye. The card was just beyond her fingertips, close enough to feel the heat from it, when she heard the plash behind her. Sakura didn’t bother turning around towards it, she reached the rest of the way and fell into the card before whatever disturbed the lake could reach her.

Sakura fell into the golden light of a new card, glimpsing its name through the light before going blind to its magic.

_Corona Borealis_


	26. The Sixth Silver Honor

_Corona Borealis - the Northern Crown_

Sakura blinked away the light and at once the world focused into view. She stood at the end of a long open hallway with tall Corinthian pillars cut from white marble, flourished at the base and topmost portion. The hallway was long and made from polished stone. At the end there was what looked like an alter where the statue of a woman was place. The closer Sakura drew the larger the statue loomed. It was of a woman holding a bushel of grapes that spilled past her fingers while she looked heavenward. 

At the top of the statue Sakura saw something catch the light and reflect it back. Everything was stripped marble and stone except for the crown on her head. Unlike previous cards, Sakura knew what to do at once, and set to scaling the statue with her prize clearly in sight.

_‘We could help you with that,_’ Indra offered from inside his card.

“I can do this much on my own,” Sakura answer out loud, not caring if anyone else was around the hear her speak. “When this task is over and we’re vomited back out into the world, I’ll need your strength for whatever it was I heard behind me.” 

_‘What do you think it was_?’ Ashura asked, sounding worried.

“Nothing we can’t handle together.”

She felt the warmth of their confidence and love bloom in her chest and spill out from their freckles. The were full of love for her, unabashedly so, and it almost made her pause.

Almost.

The statue wasn’t an easy thing to scale. More than once Sakura had to readjust her hold and end up slipping or loosing ground. Still, once she was at the next, groping around the statue’s face for purchase, she had to admit that it was one of the less challenging trials she had encountered inside a card.

Sakura grabbed for the rose gold crown. Up close she could see it was set with deep green emeralds and fashioned into nine points with eight jewels between them. It came off with minimal effort, but the world didn’t disappear like she thought it would once she reached the crown.

_‘Wear it maybe,_’ Indra suggested.

Sakura fit the crown over her head and settled it into place, only to scream as a halo of small spikes shot into her skull, spring loaded and hungry for her blood. She nearly topped off the statue, but grabbed for the face to hug and cling to as more pain made her dizzy.

Ashura screamed her name while Indra demand release so that he could heal her, but Sakura was too dizzy and too hurt to hear either of them. A new voice was whispering in her head, stretching the pain through her skull and digging it deeper.

“**You who seek power, feel its weight and trembled in despair. There is no rest for the mighty, and there is no prize won without blood. Humble your heart and unfold yourself for the remaking**.”

Sakura cried as blood ran down the front of her face, over her barely open third eye. The pain ripped through her and she felt it spread from skull to face to shoulders and then further down. The only wound was from the spikes around her head, but she felt cut open from the inside all the way down.

Ashura kept screaming her name and Indra was loud in his own way, demanding release. This time she could hear them both but held them back. She knew in her heart what she had to do. She knew what she needed to endure.

The pain reached her toes and Sakura felt like she had been cut open and folded inside out, but then that pain throbbed duller than before, and she forced her eyes open in time to see the world bleed white as the card’s domain collapsed.

Remade, Sakura closed her eyes and let the world come.

She came back gasping. The pain was gone and so was the blood. She shook all over and Indra and Ashura still clamored to be set free. Sakura touched the surface of the lake, then began to sink into the water without any magic to keep her suspended.

She pushed magic into Indra and Ashura’s cards, surprised at the rush of power. _That was new_.

Indra and Ashura reached down and plucked her from the water before she could sink past her knees, as both brothers could use their magic to walk atop the water’s surface. Indra carried her in his arms, fretting over what he thought were injuries while Ashura stood in front of them with a sword drawn. It was well past midnight, but the sky was bright with another nearly filled moon that highlighted everything in silver shades. Dawn wasn’t too far off.

“It’s you.”

Sakura looked up, hearing the voice for the first time in days.

“You... weren’t you supposed to be with Naruto?” Sakura shot back.

Killer Bee sneered and then flapped his hand in her direction. “You’d know better than most after the state you left him in. Kiddy gloves are off now, you can get ready to eat it cause I’m gonna make you believe it.”

Sakura gaped at rapid wordplay, more bothered by his awful rhymes than the nature of his threats. She couldn’t see how Naruto had been able to stand, much less admire the utter baboon of a man in front of her.

“Ashura,” Sakura called, voice full of confidence.

He smirked in response. “You got it!”

The water under him rippled as Ashura launched himself across the lake with his sword held high over his head. He scream and swung down with enough force to cut the water down to the town below. Large folds of water arched away, spraying both males as Bee dodged then parried with a blade of his own. The two went toe to two before an explosion between the two of them forced each back in opposite directions.

A mark on Killer Bee’s leg lit up red and then there was a shimmer under the waters in the same color. “**The Sixth Silver Honor**, come forth my army!” Bee shouted before the light turned blinding. “Obliterate!” 

Out of the water a dozen arms pierced the surface, followed by heads and bodies. The corpse army crawled through the water like it was topsoil until they stood atop its surface, slouched and hunched with the weight of their decay. Sakura’s stomach turned when she saw the faces half decomposed with shreds of skin dangling free.

“What the hell,” she breathed into Indra’s side.

“They’re a resurrected army’s last remains. He wasn’t strong enough to summon more than that,” Ashura scoffed. “If you had that card you’d summon a force so much more impressive.”

“Shut up!” Bee yelled, hearing the taunt too well.“You’re gonna die tonight.”

“I’m so scared of your twelve little stick men,” Ashura laughed, swinging his sword over his hand and then back into his palm. It glowed brighter the second time he gripped it and the same light lit up his eyes.

“You need not taunt so,” Indra grumbled.

“I’ll taunt however much I want because I’m the one swinging the sword here,” Ashura snapped before launching himself forward in a kick of foaming lake waves and freshwater spray.

To no one’s surprise the first corpse fell apart like it was made out of toothpicks when Ashura swing his blade through it. There was an edge of air that cut though the air, sending ripples out and knocking another two bodies over onto their backs before Ashura leapt and brought his blade down through the skull of a second one. He became a blur, slashing through form after form, figure after figure.

Sakura noticed Bee putting distance between himself and the shambling arm and pat Indra’s arm before pointing. Bee had another card in his hand that glittered between his fingers in silver light before he turned into something like a roaring flame shaped in the outline of a man.

“The old divide and conquer,” Indra grumbled, tightening his grip on Sakura. “Hold on to me.”

Sakura looped her arm up behind his neck and leaned into Indra as he sprang up off the water, away from where a bolt of fire flew down to hiss and die as it made contact with the water.Sakura summoned her wand into her hand. It materialized as a branch but took on the shape of something polished when she shook it once.

“Don’t materialize anything, use what’s available to your advantage,” Indra urged, jumping away to safety once more. “Don’t tire yourself out.”

“Smart,” Sakura praised, knowing the color on his face was because of her words.

So, instead of firing back with a summoned substance, Sakura channeled her magic through the wood and then hexed the lake to do her bidding. It erupted into a fountain reaching for the moon. Sakura grunted and moved to direct its trajectory so it would hit Bee, but the man on fire was almost as fast as Indra.

“He’s not going to win here tonight,” Ashura roared from his own battle. He didn’t seem to be lagging in his efforts to cut down all the zombie bodies. As expected, they didn’t stay down after he dismantled them with his blade, but they did fall apart into pieces that could barely fit together until it was comically easy to avoid their reach.

“I told you he would need our help,” a new voice interrupted.

Indra and Ashura jumped back and turned along with Sakura towards the edge of the lake where a pair of figures were walking out. Anko’s head was bowed low and her eyes even more glossy than usual. Around her neck a mess of black infection spread across her skin that pulsated with magic. Beside her Minato strolled across the water with his hands int the pockets of his dress slacks.

“Sir!” Bee exclaimed, stepping down onto the water’s surface nearby and rushing over. “I’m so sorry you had to make it out here yourself. I-I know what you said b-but-”

“Enough,” Minato interjected, sounding as patient as one would expect a doting father to sound. His pleasant tone matched his soft expression but Sakura felt sick all over the closer her drew.

“You’re the monster behind all this, the one pulling the strings,” Ashura snapped. He stood in front of Indra and Sakura, arms extended like he was ready to catch anything or anyone that made an attempt to sneak past him.

“What did you do to Anko?” Indra asked, nothing the black markings.

“My dear student was in need of correction. I seek to better her understanding of my aims so that she might learn the error of her ways and improve. Don’t worry, she’s too valuable to me to damage beyond repair.”

“Anko?” Sakura called out. When the woman didn’t flinch or lift her head Sakura cursed and shook a little. It hadn’t even been a day and already the woman was paying for helping them escape.

“You drugged her with magic,” Indra accused. “How?”

“There are means known only to me, Chalice. I can see you’re as fanatical as ever. If only you were so motivated during the last games for my benefit.” Minato turned to look over at Bee with a comically disappointed expression. “He fought me the entire time, wouldn’t come out of his card no matter what trick I used. I wondered if it had something to do with the fact that I never found his brother. Kakashi had the best theories for these things. I miss him some days.”

Indra gripped Sakura closer, his knuckles turned white as he shook with his own silent fury. “You were different then. You were never this twisted, just a stupid fool who thought he could cheat the world and come out unscathed. You were wrong in the end.”

“Was I?” Minato laughed. “I did what I set out to do and I’m famous among our friends for it. I achieved what others could not and bested the games with the lowest amount of casualties since its inception. Now, as the game master, I’m in a position to cash in some of those favors.”

“What the hell is he talking about, Indra?” Ashura snapped. “Did you know him?”

“Vaguely, I was never won over, and he never wore my mark.”

“A pity,” Minato sighed, eyes dipping low to where the freckles on Sakura blinked brilliantly with live magic. “We would have done fantastic, terrible things.”

“Like what you did to Anko?” Indra pressed. “You never had such abilities before, nor were you this cruel, only stupid.”

“You do remember me!” Minato cheered.

“I wish I didn’t, but seeing your ugly face triggered enough unpleasant memories to be sure. Something went wrong with you,” Indra said.

Minato swept his arms wide and shrugged, smiling boyishly. In his three piece suit and campaign styled hair he looked far too immaculate for such a trivial expression. That’s when Sakura noticed his reflection. His suit was the same, his shoes and slacks and tie all matched, but where untouched blond hair should have been there was long trails of oil black locks and a pale face as white as a skull. His eyes were creased at the corners but Sakura could still see what should have been vibrant blue was in fact a sick saffron shade.

“Who are you?”

Minato went stiff and then dropped his hands to his side. Anko almost lifted her head, but her bangs were still in her eyes and her expression was hidden from the rest of the world.

“I’m the winner,” Minato answered easily, pouting at the end in a manner that was too much like Naruto.

“No,” Sakura snarled as she pushed the power of her _Corona Borealis _into her third eye, ripping it open. 

It opened wide, faster and easier than before with the new surge of magic to fuel it. The Northern crown didn’t have any special abilities of its own, but it acted more like a battery for powering other cards. Sakura had more magic and more power to do greater things for longer amounts of time. Already she could feel the difference as she wrestled for control of her third eye. It was nearly always a painful struggle she lost, but with her anger and her new power her third eye responded at once, screeching to life as the world bled into shades of red.

A ripple of power tore through the air and caused the lake under them to stir. Sakura stepped out of Indra’s hand, balancing on the water with her own power. Her hair was wild around her, flapping like the edges of a halo.

“Who are you?” she seethed, pushing even more magic into her eye, causing it to mutate.

She saw history in a second. One heartbeat later and a thousand and one images had flashed through her mind. She saw it all from the beginning in mute flashes that didn’t need to be heard.

Minato was desperate and kind. The first of his friends had died. He held a boy covered in blood and made a promise. He would do whatever it took to see no one else had to die or suffer for their bloody game. Once upon a time he was the master of the southern crown and enough cards to emerge the obvious favorite in a race of power half of the participants were unaware of. Some of them were just kids. His kids. Kakashi, Rin, Obito….

A man too old even for his wrinkles made him a promise. Minato wanted to know who he was making deals with. Minato wanted his friends to all live. Between the two desires one was far greater than the other. And the old stranger honored his oaths. The game went more smoothly than ever before and there were days he was so happy he could scarcely believe he had achieved such a lucky lot in life. He got to meet and marry the love of his life. He got to see two beautiful baby boys born. He got to see a town turn towards him and support him as he ran for Mayor. So many happy memories…

Then there were voices.

_‘Was it worth it?’_

_‘Of course. My life is nothing compared to theirs.’_

_‘You’re so selfless. They’ll never know what you had to give up for them.’ _

_‘I don’t understand what you mean.’_

_‘You needn’t. It is not your place to know. The role you played is finished, and now the fiddler must have his due. You’ll honor your oaths, won’t you? So sleep you kind and stupid fool.’_

And then there was darkness.

_A single card fell to the floor that Sakura recognized too clearly. Minato was painted as a knight riding a steed over a trampled dragon, eyes shining like blue birds as a flag was caught in the wind behind him. The boarders of the card glittered the same way Kakashi’s had._

_Anko reached down and grabbed the card, eyes heavy with sorrow._

_“He was a good man,” she said to the wrinkled snake faced man who stood over her._

_“They always are, my dear.”_

_Then Sakura watched as the wrinkled man inhaled, inflating like a balloon before exhaling so deeply that all his skin fell off of him. He climbing out of his mouthpiece, emerging as a blood soaked man with yellow blond hair and bright blue eyes. He laughed and shook the blood from his hair before turning around to admire what he could of his new body._

_“Time to start the games now, I think.”_

_Naruto and Menma never knew._

_Kakashi and Guy never knew._

_Did Bee know he was working for a demon? What else could the body snatcher be called? He was a snake that shed his skin and whispered in the ears of good men whom he preyed upon._

Sakura broke out of the trance a second later and staggered as her eye folds snapped shut. A trail of red snaked down the front of her face as she almost slipped into the water as her magic fluctuated back into something more stable. She was breathing heavy, but it wasn’t from the effort.

“You’re a monster,” Sakura gasped. “What did you do with Minato?” 

The body snatcher’s smile slipped off his face and for the first time, Sakura was able to see clearly what she had been blind to before. Minato’s sky blue eyes went dull and mutated, turning from blue to gold. In place of a circular pupil there were black slits he watched her.

“Where is he?” Sakura roared.

She wanted to rip him open and find the truth under his skin, even if she had to do all that with her teeth. All the anger and frustration from failing to free Kakashi came back in a new flavor when she looked across the lake at the imposter.

“It’s going to get complicated if you know that much already. Anko, my dear, Bee needs a little pick me up, so why don’t you see to it. Make yourself useful.”

The marks around Anko’s neck flared up and she hissed in pain before turning towards Bee.

Seeing her advance Bee backtracked, holding his hands up but she still advanced on him.

“No, sir, boss I can’t do that!”

Then before he could block a vibrantly colored snake bit him on the wrist and he screamed, falling onto his knees. Sakura recognized the snake and cursed low, knowing Bee would be full of energy and new power once the venom circulated.

“Ashura!” she called in time to prompt him into action.

He charged at Bee and was nearly on top of his target before a mess of clattering corpses threw themselves in the way. Bee screamed loud and deep, the waters around him churned as he burst into flames, this time taking on the shape of a bird. Two dozen new bodies rose up out of the water like topsoil and these ones were more flesh then dead, wearing uniforms from a war Sakura didn’t recognize.

Somewhere far off the notes of a wolf howl echoed through the trees, only no wolf howled quite like that. Sakura recognized the soundas belonging to one of the monstrous enforcers. The man in Minato’s body frowned at the sound, like it was something that made him hesitate. She saw it in the way he turned towards Anko, away from the rest of them.

“Bee, finish her or don’t come back,” the man in Minato’s body ordered.

He snapped for Anko and turned back to the edge of the lake. Somewhere closer another creature roared, sounding more like a bear and less like a wolf. Sakura dashed forward to give chase, but a wall of fire went up right in front of her, stretching high into the sky, taller than she could ever hope to jump.

Sakura pulled the magic out of her feet and let herself sink under the surface. The water was cold and she felt the regret of her choice as soon as the water closed over her head. Her body went into shock and refused to move until another fireball nearly slammed into her side, still somehow blazing while underwater.

Indra dove down after her and reached her first, before another blaze of fire could cut any closer. He pulled her back and swam up to the surface, filling her with heat that chased away the shock. She wasn’t cold when she emerged thanks to him.

“He’s getting away,” she coughed.

“Let him, there will be times in the future we cross paths. You need to live to see those days.” He was shaking as he held her, but it wasn’t from the cold.

“He stole that body, he-he’s like Kakashi! I can’t let him just _leave_ here. I need to free his card!”

Indra dragged her away just in time to miss another whip of fire that snapped to close to their heads.He grabbed her by the face then kissed her full on the lips. It was enough to jumpstart her heart again and she realized where she was. They were in danger and Ashura was loosing ground. Minato-or whoever it was in his body-was already too far away.

She needed to focus. Saving her and her own came first.

“Here,” she gasped, re-materalizing her wand. She pressed it into his hands and stood. “Take this and provide backup. I’ll take on Bee. Save your brother.”

Before he could say anything she jumped away.

Bee was less of a man and more of a bird circling overhead, spewing fire and making the world, cold from winter, burn. She didn’t have any water based cards, or anything that might overpower his firebird state. She could match his fire with her Leo the Lion card, but she wouldn’t be able to reach him when he flew overhead.

Sakura pulled two cards out at once, into her right hand and one into her left hand. She trembled a bit, still dripping wet, but it was only her nerves that gave her pause. She hadn’t been able to combine cards for very long with any measure of success when she trained, but now she had more power.

“Please let this work.”

Sakura poured her magic into _both_ the Swan and the Lion card and screamed until they consumed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet a few of you were wondering why Naruto's dad was the bad guy? Now, hopefully, some things have cleared themselves up. :)


	27. White Phoenix

“The Power to tear the world asunder and turn the wheel of fate,” she screamed into the blinding force of her own unstable magic. “Give me the power to move kingdoms, the power to revolutionize the world!”

The flames were white and all the cold that once clung to her burned away as she was made anew. She shot out of the inferno, glittering white with her own angry flames. Her heels left sparks in the air and her wings ended in white flames as she swooped low under a new arch and then banked sharply back towards Bee.

She could feel the bond between the lion card, all fire and inferno courage, and the swan card, glittering beauty on wings. The bond was thick and full of power, but it wasn’t strong. It felt like it would weaken if she wasn’t careful, but Sakura didn’t need it to last forever-just long enough.

They turned and swooped around one another, chasing each other’s tails, leaving streaks in the sky that burned long after they had passed.

Like before, Bee took shots at her, forcing Sakura to twist and dodge in midair to avoid the balls of fire. She knew she could project fire as well, but her rang wasn’t as impressive and it was taking her all the concentration she had just to keep the two cards together.

“You’re manipulating the card’s nature already? And here we thought you weren’t getting help,” he taunted between strikes.

“Shows what you know. Anyone can learn a thing or two if they’re desperate enough.”

“I’ll show you what desperation is," he roared. "Hold still!”

But Sakura tucked her wings into her sides and rolled into the draft, dive bombing out of his reach, only to unfold her wings and bank sharply. He maneuvered almost as well, but Sakura was more flexible, even in air. She could take the corners tighter and turn on a dime, but he had more firepower and was able to attack with projectiles so much more efficiently.

Sakura felt herself getting caught between the two natures of her cards-one meant for flying, the other for mastering fire. She could do both just fine, but there was a delay that came from how new the whole experience was.

She would just need to outmaneuver him a little longer. Once she got more comfortable with her new self she would be able to switch from defense to offense. 

Bee screamed and doubled the umber of attacks aimed at her, giving her even more reason to run. One of the shots grazed her cheek and she expected to feel pain or blood, but it passed by, doing little more than rubbing her. Another came close and Sakura let it hit the side of her arm. The force stung, but the fire did nothing to damage her. She was on fire just like him, if she shot her own attacks, she doubted they would do any real damage so long as he still held the phoenix card. 

Sakura turned sharply back on herself and ran into Bee, grabbing for the front of his tunic, unbothered by the fire encasing him. He tried to pull away from her but she wouldn’t relent. 

“Into the drink together, buddy,” she snarled.

She could feel all the magic in her wanting to be let free. She could barely control herself and didn’t know how long she could hold two cards on top of one another. Her control needed more work, but that was a worry for another day.

Bee fought her and nearly slipped free more than once, but she forced him down with all her strength. Her back hurt and her wings felt like they were being ripped out of her as she pushed Bee down.

Someone called her name but she couldn’t tell who. The water rushed up over her ears, screaming as it hissed and bubbled. Both of them were on fire and the water wanted to drown the both of them, but Sakura knew she had Indra so she could risk more if there really was damage to be done.

The water was boiling all around them, bubbles popping up and down their arms. If it wasn’t for the magic she wore like sleeves her flesh would be red and dripping. Even underwater they both burned. 

Bee grabbed her aroundher wrists where she was smallest, trying to break her hold and twist her off. She flared and flames poked up between his fingers, but being a bird on fire it didn’t do anything but make it harder for him to see. Her fire didn’t burn him and his didn’t burn her. They were at an impasse left with only their control and magic to determine who would last longer.

Through the bubbles she caught sight of his face. It was only a flash, but she saw it.

Fear.

Sakura started to feel the burn in her lungs and coughed bubbles. Bee reached up and folded a leg between them, bracing his heel on her chest. She realized too late what he meant to do. He kicked her away and her hold fell free. Bee shot like a rocket up to the surface and Sakura was forced to chase after him.

She came out like a bullet and was shot out of the air just as fast.

Tumbling back, head over heel, she saw him standing on the water with another spear readied. The phoenix fire was gone and he was steaming with the last dregs of its fiery magic. The other lance was sticking out of her side, catching fire and turning into a smoking torch.

He launched another one that missed and she slipped into the water before the third one could impact. He had pulled them out of his side where the mark glowed bright like a light through his ruined clothes.

“Stay down!” he roared.

Sakura twisted around and broken off the shaft of the lance and left the spearhead inside her, not ready to bleed.

“Not for you!”

She heard him curse at her but the feeling was mutual.

There was plenty of magic left in her, even if it was hard to balance it between two fused cards as well as Ashura, Indra and the wand she left with him. She still had enough to be terrifying.

Sakura swam through the bubbles until she was under him and surged. He jumped away in time and launched another spear at her, but she was already twisting in air, diverting any of his projectiles back into the water until she was high above them all.

She was high enough in the sky that everyone and everything looked small enough to hold in her hand. That’s when she turned back and summoned a new card out of her freckles; The bow of the archer: Sagittarius.

If he saw what she had done she was too far away to see the expression on his face. She grasped the bow and it lit up on fire the moment she wrapped her hand around the grip. When she reached for it there was already a flaming arrow notched for her to pull back and aim with.

Sakura exhaled and fired, two, three, four different arrows. The first two missed but arrow three and four caught him in the shoulder and leg. He screamed in pain and she took that as her cue to dive bomb one last time, trailing fire behind her like a comet.

-

Sakura dragged him back up to the surface and then tossed him onto the shore, only caring to check his breathing once. Bee sagged, coughing water up but not rousing enough to wake as new air rushed into his lungs. Sakura watched from the water’s surface, hearing her boys come up behind her.

Like lights going out, she felt the bow, the sword, the lion, and then the swan card all blink out. There was still magic under her to keep her on the surface of the water, but she shuddered and nearly fell as the aftershock echoed inside her. That had been the most magic used in a span of time by far. Not even in training had she juggled so many things.

“Steady,” Ashura said, appearing at her side while Indra knelt.

She watched him pull the spear head out of her side and dully recognized the blood on it as belonging to her. The shock was keeping her from feeling it.

“I’ve got you,” Indra murmured, laying his hands over the wound and sealing it with his magic.

Ashura moved up behind her and held her shoulders when she started to lean. She blinked and suddenly her eyes were almost too heavy to keep open.

“You’re drained,” Ashura sighed. “So much for a good night’s sleep. They didn’t give you any time to breath, did they?”

“Their original goal, maybe?” Indra replied, still healing her wound.

“Who’s tired?” Sakura slurred. “Not me… I did fine.”

Indra smiled and Ashura laughed, kissing the side of her head and then hugging her around the shoulders.

“You did amazing!” Ashura cheered. “You were so incredible. I wish I didn’t have to fight so I could have paid more attention, but you were brilliant in the air. You were like something else, I tell ya. Did you know you could do that with the two cards?”

“I do now.”

“You learn these things as the need arises,” Indra hummed.

Ashura’s grin was wide enough to split his face. He looked so happy and boyishly proud when he looked at her. “But seriously, you were radiant. I don’t know how anyone could face off against you like that. You looked like an avenging angel. “

“How are you feeling right now?” Indra interrupted, pulling his hands away from her side.

Sakura looked down and saw her unmarred skin through the hole in the nightdress. There wasn’t even any evidence of there having been a wound in the first place.

“I feel super tired, but there’s no pain.”

“Good enough,” Indra said. He rose to his feet and stood next to her. “Rest is easy enough to come by once we are back. I suggest returning to the manor and night your home.”

“And this guy?” Ashura asked. He pointed to Bee who lay alive but unconscious on the ground. “He might die if left outside in the elements.”

Indra scoffed, ready to turn his back but Sakura grabbed him by the shirt sleeve. “Please. Just so that he survives the night. Can you do that?”

“He was supposed to kill you.”

“I know.”

“Did you not hear that guy?” Ashura made his voice comically deep and overly sophisticated. ‘Bee, finish her or don’t come back.’ That’s what he said about you.”

“I know, but that’s who he is. I’m me and I do things differently. I want to heal him.”

Indra frowned, looking between his brother and Bee and then back at Sakura. “That would require more of your magic. You said you were tired.”

Sakura closed her eyes and nodded once more. “Yes, I understand. But I’m not playing this game the same way. I’m not like them. Just…make sure he doesn’t die because of me. We can leave him here under the trees for shelter, but his wounds…”

“I understand,” Indra answered, already moving.

Ashura held onto her shoulders and watched his brother drag the other man up against a tree trunk before healing the wounds Sakura’s arrows left behind. They had been on fire so the bleeding wasn’t severe, and left little work for him to oversee. When he was done he pulled down a few branches of pin needles and rested them over Bee for warmth. It would do little to keep him warm, but without anything else on hand, it would work well enough to help him make it through the night.

“It’s done. Are you ready to go now?” Indra asked. 

Sakura nodded but didn’t say anything. Wordlessly she pulled out the Stag card and felt more of her magic move through her. It almost made her dizzy, but when she looked up the stag was there and Ashura helped pull her onto its back. Ashura rode behind her while Indra sat in front, leaving Sakura sandwiched between the two of them.

By the time they made it back Sakura knew she was barely awake enough to walk upstairs on her own. Ashura scooped her up at the door and Indra pushed back the hyper active dogs who were eager to welcome her back.

She managed to stay conscious long enough to remember coming into the room with the fireplace and getting tucked into bed. Half her dogs cuddled around her, pinning her in, and then the dark dreamless sleep swallowed her up.

-

She pulled herself out of the pit, dragging the weight of body her up with more effort than usual. The blood made everything heavier. Her hair was thick with red just like the rest of her.

“Where…?”

When Sakura turned she recognized the bodies below her. Yugito, the girl Gaara killed in front of her, her brother, another boy from her memories-Gaara’s cousin. Then the other faces barely had names, but she knew where they were from. Each one was a dead duelist from the beginning of the games. Half of Kakashi’s files were crossed out with few exceptions.

Sakura pulled herself up, closer to the edge and looked back again. The pit had grown with more bodies and more faces, none of them recognizable. No. She recognized Obito’s face-he had been in so many of Kakashi’s photos. Ran was there too, half sun into the red pools.

The air stank so Sakura pulled herself up another level, only to turn around and see further. There were no faces she recognized, so she pulled up further again. And again.

And again.

And then again.

Until she was finally awake.

-

“Another nightmare?”

Sakura blinked and then reached up. Her face was still wet from the fluid her third eye discharged. Sometimes it was blood, sometimes it was tears. Her fingers came away sticky and she grimaced. Blood this time.

“Nothing too traumatizing,” she joked.

Sakura rolled over in bed and bumped one of her dogs with her knee. Chainsaw whined and then got up to run out, looking for Indra. Ashura stayed in his seat by the fire, happy to see the small dog dash off.

Sakura glanced about and remembered it had been days since the three of them had moved in to the house in the woods. There was the smell of snow in the air but Christmas and the first day of winter were both still a few weeks off.

Yesterday her phone had started to chirp with alerts of messages and voicemails her friends left her. Some were panicked others were annoyed. Guy was the first and he seemed to realize what had happened right away. Ino was a banshee that only Karin could rival in levels of shrill anger. She had chosen to save their voicemails until later.

“You look a little better.”

Sakura grinned at Ashura’s reach of a compliment. “Only a little?”

He flushed and ruffled the front of his hair. “Not easy to improve when you’re already damn near perfect.”

Sakura laughed out loud and the dream’s echoing horror fell from her bones like shed feathers. She felt so much lighter when Ashura made her laugh. She didn’t know what she would do without his humor.

“You spoil me far too much. How am I ever going to ever take anyone seriously again after being exposed to compliments like yours?”

“If someone is complementing you with less _finesse_ or meaning they’re not worth the time of day,” he said. “I’m trying to raise the bar a bit. You’ve left it too low.”

“The bar is fine where it is.”

Ashura shot her a look that made her want to laugh all over again. She still felt sleep caught in the corners of her eyes, but at least Ashura helped her brain wake up.

“I think there is going to be another card appearing soon.”

“Oh? That would be the first one in a while. What makes you say that?”

Sakura glanced down at the blood dried under her fingernails. “Just a feeling.”

“Well, I’ll let Indra know. He said he was making breakfast today for us and left to go feed the dogs. We can use the greenhouse, can’t we?”

“Yeah, if something is going to show up it should appear there,” Sakura answered back over her shoulder.

She picked her clothes up off the vanity and dressed inside the bathroom, only to emerge minutes later to a mostly empty room. Mop had plopped himself down in the doorway to the bathroom, getting as close to her as he could while the door was still shut for privacy’s sake.

Sakura waved to Mop and then waved in the general direction of the hallway. “Go find them. Go find Indra, Ashura.”

With a bark her shaggy wolfhound sprang up and took off for the hallway, stopping and turning to make sure she was following before progressing any further.

The changes in the hallway stood out right away.

The railing was heavy with decorative pine needle garlands. Cranberries ran through the garland on a string and gold painted leaves clustered together to decorate the spaces in between.In the main hall the first of three different Christmas trees stood tall and proud with glittering glass decorations.

After coming back with one more card to her name, the house adapted all on its own, changing and shifting accordingly. Indra theorized that the more cards she found the more filled out the house would become. 

The changes would be seen in the other three locations, if what Indra remembered from her childhood in the compound was the be relied upon.

The manor in the woods, the lake with the sunken city, and two other undiscovered locations that reflected the seat of power for the Golden deck and the Black deck were all changing as the game progressed. Indra said they weren’t important enough to go searching for and didn’t play any significant role in the games until much later on.

_‘And that’s only if we let the games progress that far.’ _

Sakura followed Mop into the kitchen at the back of the house. It was an old house so the kitchen was thin and long, tucked away and out of sight, but Indra made it work for him. She could already smell his Shepard’s Pie. 

“You’re up,” he called out before turning around.

Sakura leaned agains the door jam and watched him work. “I thought Ashura would be here.” “He’s in the dining room already, waiting to be served like the princess he is.”

Sakura held back her chuckle. “He said he’d let you know about the card I sensed.”

Indra turned around with a plate already prepared for her. He waved a fork before sticking it into the pie and setting it down on the counter next to him. Sakura moved up to take it and noticed the other two plates Indra was loading up with Shepard’s Pie.

“He mentioned it. You should have something to eat first. It’s getting cold out and you have a nasty habit of underdressing for the weather. Some food in the belly will help.”

Sakura carried her plate into an adjacent dining room and sat at the head of a long, elaborate table. Ashura was already sitting down with chainsaw on his lap.

“Down,” Sakura pointed to the floor and the Jack Russell Terrier hopped down, but not without whining.

“Aww, we were getting along,” Ashura whined, watching Chainsaw run away to sit under Indra’s chair. “No fair.”

“Don’t let the pie go cold,” Indra replied, tone indifferent before turning to Sakura. “Same goes for you. Food first, then we can go searching.”

Sakura pouted, but picked up her fork, knowing better. “Thank you for the meal.”

Indra beamed at her gratitude then looked pointedly across the table at his brother but Ashura snorted before shoveling more food into his mouth. Indra made a ’tick’ sound with his tongue before turning back to his own food.

The three ate in peaceful silence with Sakura and Ashura both going back for seconds as soon as they finished their first helpings. Indra also had fresh bread for them that tasted better than anything Sakura could ever find in her own home.

“You’d make an excellent housewife, brother,” Ashura laughed over his pie.

“The best,” Sakura agreed, keenly aware of how annoyed the comment made Indra.

“I know the two of you are joking but there are limits. Please refrain from crossing the line with your humor. I find it demoralizing.”

“What’s demoralizing about it?” Sakura asked. “You’re amazing in the kitchen, you heal, you clean, you listen as good as any of my friends, and you’re super smart. I feel like I can go to you and ask about anything. Nothing there to be ashamed of, trust me.”

Indra’s face twitched like he wasn’t sure which expression to make. “Sakura, please don’t praise me like I am one of your female friends. I’m still a man and I have my pride.”

“What does being a man have to do with it? There’s nothing wrong with a man taking some pride in the less masculine arts. Kakashi is also really go at cleaning and even though he sucks at cooking he tries his best for me. Meanwhile I suck at cooking. If there’s no instant pizza in the fridge I just drink Gatorade for dinner and starve.”

Ashura joined his brother in expressing his horror. “You’d starve?” Ashura asked, sounding appalled.

Sakura shrugged. “Kakashi always told me I needed to end up with someone who knew how to cook because I was hopeless. Remember that bar we were discussing earlier?”

Indra groaned and stood to reach across the table for Ashura’s empty dish. He stacked all three of their plates and took them into the kitchen to wash in the sink but still called back over her shoulder as he worked.

“Anyone who eats should know how to prepare their own food. You’re not one of the dogs, Sakura.”

“I can make my own food! I just…don’t.”

“I understand that,” Ashura said. He nodded along.

“Ashura, don’t encourage her. You’re just as terrible. In addition to not knowing any domestic skills you’re horrible with money. Work on fixing yourself first.”

“We don’t even have money anymore!”

The boys began to bicker but it was a light and friendly sort of banter underneath all the insults and jabs. After eating Sakura felt like she needed to run so she took the leash for Chainsaw and did a lap around the property, fast and far enough the she broke out a sweat and came home dirty. She went back upstairs to clean herself and spend another hour coloring in one of her journals. She drew some of the things she saw and wrote prose about different visions.

By the time lunch rolled around she found her way to the kitchen where the brother were cleaning the dishes from earlier. Not even Indra was immune to the ‘I’ll let this pan soak for a few hours’ cleaning logic. Sakura joined Indra in the kitchen, drying off the dishes he washed only for Ashura to show up and replace each of the items in the correct space around the kitchen.

The dishes were nearly all put away when Mop noticed it first. Firs Mop and then the rest of the dogs began to bark. Ginger paced back and forth and Chainsaw ran from one end of the room to the next, barking the whole time.

“Something outside?” Ashura asked, following Sakura to the nearest window.

She pulled back the curtain and saw in the pale daylight a shadowy bear shaped creature. It turned and opened it’s lower and upper mouths roaring into the air. Sakura couldn’t see all its eyes, but most of them were turned away from the house, watching something else in the forest.

“And enforcer? Is it here for me?” she asked.

“It shouldn’t. You’ve done nothing for it to enforce. You’re playing the game,” Indra answered.

Behind them the clear crystal sounding chimes from the old fashioned doorbell rang out, echoing throughout the rest of the house. The sound made Sakura’s blood run cold. Enforcers were beasts. None of them knew how to us a doorbell.

There was someone at the front door.

“Quick, get the-” but Sakura’s words died in her throat when she heard the familiar sound of the latches falling out of place and the heavy wood swinging open. The front door that was never locked swung inwards and from the kitchen they could hear it but not see.

Ashura darted out first, a short knife glowing with magic materialized in his left hand. When Sakura tried to follow Indra held her back, touching a finger to his lips. Together they listened as Ashura stepped into the main hall to greet the intruder.

“Oh, you’re one of the brothers. I can never tell the two of you apart. I guess Sakura is here then.”

Sakura recognized the voice but couldn’t understand it.

“What are you doing here?” Ashura snapped. “How did you know Sakura would be here?”

“Didn’t know anything for certain, just guessed. The last place one of my pets saw any of you was around here. I figured it was a good enough lead to follow. Speaking of which….Hey Sakura, you can come out now! It’s only me. I’m all alone. Come out.”

Sakura felt Indra stiffen behind her and knew Ashura would look just as fierce and ready in front of their visitor. She didn’t know if that was necessary, but she wanted to believe their visitor wasn’t as hostile as the last face she saw.

“Shut up. Don’t try anything smart in front of me. I’ll kill you if you endanger her,” Ashura snapped.

“You won’t have to,” Sakura interjected. She pushed past Indra and walked out into the main hall, exposing herself and seeing with her own two eyes the face of the voice she recognized too well.

The man’s eyes danced and his grin stretched wide when he saw her. He was still in his uniform, but the belt was empty and his shirt was left open past the first few buttons, showing off the lack of undershirt. 

“Karin said the Uchiha weren’t involved in the games, so what are you doing here Shisui Uchiha?”

“We’re not duelists, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t involved in the games,” he laughed. “We’re just in charge of keeping the peace is all. Who else would you trust to keep the monsters in check?”

Behind him a myriad of mismatched enforcers all howled, screamed, and cried out in one voice before going silent the moment Shisui’s eyes flashed red.

Shisui then blinked and sniffed the air dramatically before laughing. “Hey, something smells great. Mind if I drop in for a bite?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, now I think I know how to finish this off! I've drafted 5 more chapters before the final and have a good-ish idea of how to pull it off, but as is often the case, my plans and drafts are often only there for me to ignore-so we'll see how I do. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this!

**Author's Note:**

> Can you hear someone laughing nervously? That's me realizing the folly of my personal brand of hubris. Haha. Weekly updates of Star Catcher, and biweekly updates of Pompeii with Jaylene on AO3 is a fantastic idea to start at the SAME TIME. Hahahaha....
> 
> Yeah, so weekly updates seem to be a thing people like, thus Star Catcher will have weekly updates for the rest of the year, (until 2020 at least), and fingers crossed that after a short break I can keep that up. I've got most of the story written and just need it edited. 
> 
> But I am super excited and in love with this story. It's a mix of so many things I love, Sakura, magical girl anime, small town Stranger Things vibes, the found family, and of course magic.  
...and harems. 
> 
> When I was little I used to look at the freckles on my body and pretend they were constellations, maybe to a sky we hadn't discovered yet, or stars that we couldn't see yet. I love that childlike fantasy and wanted to take it for this story, but put a magical girl spin on it and then add in some monsters. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this story too. Please let me know, I appreciate all the feedback and live for that sweet, sweet, validation of my super niche writing.


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